Singapore stocks close higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.6%

SINGAPORE stocks inched higher for the second consecutive day on Wednesday (Mar 27), as regional bourses ended mixed.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.6 per cent or 18.38 points to close at 3,251.71.

Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 289 to 270, with 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion having changed hands.

The biggest gainer on the STI was energy company Sembcorp Industries , which gained 1.9 per cent or S$0.10 to close at S$5.41.

Local banks also moved up the index. DBS gained 1.5 per cent or S$0.55 to close at S$36.63; UOB rose 1.5 per cent or S$0.43 to close at S$29.68, and gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to close at S$13.74.

The biggest decliner on the index was Seatrium , which fell by 2.5 per cent or S$0.002 to close at S$0.079.

It was also the most actively traded counter by volume; 480.9 million shares worth S$38.3 million were traded.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1.4 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.3 per cent.

Regional indices that closed higher were Australia’s ASX 200, which rose 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.9 per cent.

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The regional showing comes as major US indexes such as the Dow and S&P 500 ended their day with a third consecutive decline.

Stephen Innes, the managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said that investors remained cautious as they awaited economic data and sought clues on the US Federal Reserve’s policy direction.

He said that artificial intelligence and mega-cap stocks have propelled equities higher over the past five months, but investors seem to be “pausing for breath” over the last three days.

“We find ourselves in a tug-of-war between inflation realities and weaker growth expectations, where an excess of either is also undesirable,” said Innes.