Singapore: Banks, Jardine push STI up in mixed-to-weak session

POSSIBLY in response to Wall Street's Monday jump that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to all-time highs, the Straits Times Index rose 18.22 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,422.11 on Tuesday to go with Monday's 1.03 points rise. This brings its two-day gain to 19 points after falling 38 points on Thursday and Friday last week.

However, despite the index's gain, the broad market was weak for most of the day, with falls outnumbering rises. At 5pm, the advance-decline ratio was 195-238 and turnover at 1.3 billion units worth S$1.2 billion was in line with recent averages.

Jardine and bank stock were the primary index drivers, although Noble Group's S$0.065 or 7 per cent rebound to S$1.01 contributed about four points. The stock had been under intense pressure over the past fortnight following a short selling attack by a firm known only as Iceberg Research.