Singapore shares end week in the black, STI up 0.62%

SINGAPORE shares extended their gains on Friday to end the week in the black, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 0.62 per cent or 17.55 points to end at 2,839.89.

Among the STI constituents, City Developments emerged as the top performer, gaining 4.56 per cent or S$0.35 to end at S$8.03.

Retail counter CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) came in third on the performance table, after rising 3.13 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$1.98.

The Singapore Department of Statistics on Friday said that the decline in Singapore's retail sales slowed in October, with takings down 8.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, retail sales edged up 0.2 per cent in October.

Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank, said the m-o-m improvement "marks a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel".

"Retail sales may only revert to positive y-o-y growth territory in early 2021," she said. "Q2 2021 retail sales will also likely see a big jump due to the very low base this year inflicted by the 'circuit breaker' period in Q2 2020."

The trio of banks also made gains on Friday. UOB gained 0.35 per cent to close at S$23.05, while DBS closed up 0.31 per cent at S$25.66. OCBC inched up 0.3 per cent to end at S$10.10.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 257 to 152 for the day, with some 1.82 billion securities worth S$1.22 billion changing hands.

Across the region, Asian markets mostly ended the week in positive territory.

South Korean shares continued their bullish run on Friday, with the benchmark Kospi closing up 1.31 per cent or 35.23 points at 2,731.45, marking a fourth straight day of gains.

The Hang Seng Index also rose 0.4 per cent or 107.42 points to close at 26,835.92, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.07 per cent or 2.45 points to end at 3,444.58.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.22 per cent or 58.13 points to end at 26,751.24.

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