Singapore shares rise amid Asia rally

SINGAPORE shares rose with most regional peers on Wednesday (Mar 16), as Wall Street's major indices advanced following another drop in crude prices, which eased inflationary concerns.

The Singapore Straits Times Index (STI) *STI was up 1.7 per cent or 54.86 points to 3,290.90.

The decline in Covid-19 cases in China is also offering some support to regional markets, as fears over further lockdowns subside. Meanwhile, bargain hunters are making a move after recent sell-offs.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, in particular, is enjoying the much-needed reprieve; it ended the day 9.08 per cent higher - its strongest daily gain since 2008.

South Korea's Kospi rose 1.44 per cent; Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.64 per cent; the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.89 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index advanced 1.07 per cent.

Across the Singapore market, gainers outnumbered losers 348 to 167, with 1.61 billion securities worth S$1.67 billion having changed hands.

Leading gains on the STI as well as the FTSE ST China Index was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding BS6 , which was up 3.8 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.36. UOB U11 was also among top-performing stocks; its shares advanced 3.5 per cent or S$1.07 to S$31.60.

At the bottom of the table was Sembcorp Industries U96 , the only counter on the blue-chip index that ended the day in the red. It shares dipped 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.58.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) C38U was the most heavily traded by volume on the STI, with over 32 million shares changing hands. Units of CICT gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.15.