Singapore shares close higher; STI records fifth consecutive rise

THE Straits Times Index advanced for the fifth consecutive trading session on Monday, gaining 18.91 points at 2,981.54, most likely in response to Friday's US jobs report that raised the likelihood that Wall Street would enjoy a decent Monday itself, with hopes that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might close above 20,000 for the first time ever.

That this might be the case was the signal from the futures market where the Dow futures traded in positive territory throughout local trading hours. At 5pm however, it had dipped marginally into the red.

The STI's rise takes its 5-day total to just over 100 points or 3.3 per cent. Overall volume, however, remained weak at 2.1 billion units worth S$881.2 million, versus S$1.14 billion on Friday. There were 265 rises versus 177 falls, excluding warrants.