Singapore stocks rise as markets leave banking woes behind; STI up 0.7%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.7 per cent or 22.18 points to close at 3,281.08 points on Monday (Apr 3), amid buoyant trading across Asia.

In the wider Singapore market, gainers outnumbered losers 374 to 229, with 2.26 billion securities worth S$1.44 billion traded.

“Markets could be facing an evolving conundrum: the rat-a-tat-tat of negative news on banking corners has slowed, and the feeling of ‘more shoes to drop’ has left, but now the questions have turned to ‘what’s next?’. Well, I think the Opec supply cut is what’s next,” said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes.

“Indeed, it seems likely the acute phase of the banking turmoil has passed, and the key going forward is what impact recent developments will have on bank lending and the real economy,” he added.

Genting Singapore was the top gainer on the blue-chip index. Shares of the integrated resort operator rose 4.5 per cent or S$0.05 to close at S$1.17. It was also the most actively traded counter among the STI constituents, with 77 million shares changing hands on Monday.

Thai Beverage was another index stock that turned in a strong performance on Monday. The counter rose 2.4 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.645 with 47.9 million shares traded.

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At the bottom of the table was DFI Retail Group, which fell 2 per cent or US$0.06 to US$2.97.

Performance of the trio of local lenders was mixed. DBS and UOB fell 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, while OCBC gained 0.7 per cent.

Most key Asian markets finished higher. The Shanghai Composite Index, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose between 0.04 per cent and 0.8 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dipped 0.2 per cent.