STI up for third straight session on economic recovery hopes

IT WAS a third consecutive day of trading gains for the Singapore benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) which kept up its momentum, adding 10.04 points or 0.36 per cent to 2,788.59. This was despite the retreat of US stocks on Tuesday. Gainers outnumbered losers 243 to 199, while some 2.1 billion securities worth S$1.56 billion changed hands.

This was as DBS published an optimistic outlook for Singapore's 2021 economy, on the back of an anticipated GDP recovery, continued accommodative monetary policy, and another "highly expansionary" fiscal budget next year. Real estate developers CapitaLand and City Developments (CityDev) hogged the top spots on the index. Shares of CapitaLand added S$0.07 or 2.39 per cent to S$3.00, while those of CityDev gained S$0.14 or 1.88 per cent to S$7.58.

CapitaLand on Wednesday said it had obtained its first three green loans in India totalling 17 billion rupees (S$307.3 million) from DBS Bank India and HSBC India to finance the development of its green-certified business park developments in Chennai, Gurgaon and Pune.