Singapore stocks rise as regional markets end mixed; STI up 0.5%
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is the biggest gainer on the index
[SINGAPORE] Local shares ended Thursday (Oct 23) higher, even as markets across the region ended mixed.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.5 per cent or 22.35 points to close at 4,416.27.
Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 370 to 196, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the day’s top blue-chip gainer, rising 2.1 per cent or S$0.07 to S$3.34.
Jardine Matheson was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 0.4 per cent or US$0.23 to US$62.55. The counter continued to fall after recording the biggest gains on the STI on Tuesday, when it rose 7.8 per cent or US$4.77 to US$65.90.
This comes after the group announced a bid to privatise hotel chain Mandarin Oriental , of which it is a controlling shareholder. Jardine is recommending a cash takeover valued at US$3.35 per share, or a total value of about US$4.2 billion.
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The three local banks ended mixed on Thursday. DBS rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.36 to S$53.14 and UOB was up 0.3 per cent or S$0.12 at S$34.67. However, OCBC finished 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$16.80.
Casino operator Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter on the STI by volume, with 65.9 million units worth S$48.6 million traded. The counter rose 1.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.74.
Key indices in the region were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1 per cent. Australia’s ASX 200 inched up 0.03 per cent while FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index gained 0.3 per cent.
The mixed trade comes as Wall Street closed lower the day before, on the back of disappointing earnings from companies including Netflix.
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