Singapore stocks close higher on Wednesday, tracking US gains; STI up 0.6%

SINGAPORE shares ended higher on Wednesday (Mar 13), tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, even as US inflation data came in slightly higher than expected.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.6 per cent or 19.25 points to close at 3,160.72.

While the US Consumer Price Index climbed 3.2 per cent on year in February, surpassing expectations of 3.1 per cent growth, investors largely shrugged off the report, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high overnight.

“Despite another strong report in February, investors sense the Federal Reserve is looking for any reason or excuse to cut rates this election year,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

He noted that the unrounded core CPI numbers were far from the market’s worst-case fears, which injected a dose of relief that sent stocks rallying.

Elsewhere in the region, markets ended Wednesday mixed. Stocks in Australia and South Korea closed higher, but key indices in Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai slipped between 0.1 and 0.4 per cent.

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On the local bourse, Singtel : Z74 0% led the STI gainers, rising 3.8 per cent to S$2.48 before trading was halted, amid reports that it was looking to sell Optus for A$16 billion (S$14.1 billion). The telco clarified that there was “no impending deal” to offload Optus for the reported sum.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 282 to 268, after 1.6 billion securities worth S$1.3 billion were traded.

Meanwhile, Emperador : EMI 0% continued its losing streak this week, slipping 4.2 per cent to S$0.46, ending at the bottom of the index performance table.

Shares of Seatrium : S51 0% were the most actively traded by volume, with some 472.2 million shares worth S$44.2 million changing hands. The counter rose 2.2 per cent to close at S$0.094, after announcing that it has received in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange for its 20-to-1 proposed share consolidation.