Singapore shares end 0.7% higher on Tuesday

A COMBINATION of further progress in US-China trade talks, UK Prime Minister's Theresa May's revised Brexit deal, and an overnight Wall Street rally sent most markets in Asia higher on Tuesday.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index (STI) added 20.83 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 3,212.25.

Trading on the Singapore bourse clocked in at 1.18 billion securities worth S$1.09 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners 261 to 183.

Rex International was the bourse's most traded with 60.9 million shares traded. Shares in the oil and gas company finished 0.3 Singapore cent or 4.2 per cent higher at 7.5 Singapore cents.

Twenty-six of the STI's 30 constituents ended the day in the black. Among them, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the blue-chip index's most traded. The S-chip ended the session up three Singapore cents or 2.2 per cent at S$1.41 with 32.3 million shares changing hands.

Among financials, DBS Group Holdings closed S$0.18 or 0.7 per cent up at S$25.30, OCBC Bank added one Singapore cent or 0.1 per cent to S$11.04, and United Overseas Bank ended S$0.24 or one per cent higher to close at S$25.04.   

Wall Street's tech-led rally on Monday meant that some technology hardware and equipment, and semiconductor counters were among the Singapore bourse's best performing. Among them, UMS Holdings closed S$0.07 or 9.7 per cent up at S$0.79, AEM Holdings ended four Singapore cents or 3.3 per cent up at S$1.27, and Hi-P International added three Singapore cents or 1.7 per cent to close at S$1.75.