Singapore shares book gains on Wednesday amid lift across Asian markets

LOCAL stocks rose alongside regional peers on Wednesday (Apr 13), as traders shrugged off worries over inflation and any looming monetary tightening from the US Federal Reserve.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.4 per cent or 11.97 points to close at 3,342.22, marking the first day of gains this week. Across the broader market, advancers outpaced decliners 299 to 179, after 1.96 billion securities worth a total of S$1.1 billion changed hands.

Excluding China indices, Asian stock markets generally ended the day on a positive note. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.9 per cent; the Hang Seng Index added 0.3 per cent, and the Kospi gained 1.9 per cent. The KLCI, however, closed largely unchanged, up just 0.05 points.

Although markets closed higher across the board, Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley warned that the overall situation for stock markets "just isn't that simple".

"The environment for equities remains challenging," he said, citing the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, China's Covid-zero policy and the impending US earnings season as factors for investors to pay attention to.

On the local bourse, Jardine Cycle and Carriage C07 was the top gainer, adding 1.4 per cent or S$0.35 to S$25.48.

DBS D05 was also among the top advancers on Wednesday, rising 1 per cent or S$0.34 to S$33.58. OCBC O39 also advanced, but at a more muted 0.4 per cent or S$0.05, to close at S$12.06.

UOB U11 , however, was the biggest decliner for the day. The stock lost 0.6 per cent or S$0.19 to S$30.91.

Tech plays Nanofilm MZH and AEM AWX were also among the top decliners. Nanofilm fell 1.4 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.81; AEM shed 0.6 per cent or S$0.03 to S$4.79.

Sembcorp Marine S51 was the most heavily traded counter for the third day in a row. The stock's volume hit 434.4 million shares, causing its price to rise 6.4 per cent or S$0.007 to S$0.116.

Other actively traded counters were HS Optimus 504 and Golden Agri-Resources E5H , as well as oil plays like Rex International 5WH and RH Petrogas T13 .