Singapore stocks begin the week in the black; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks ended Monday in positive territory, extending Wall Street's rally last Friday after a US jobs report signalled that the economic recovery remained intact. The benchmark *STI (STI) gained 0.39 per cent or 12.07 points to end at 3,141.02.

Investors also took heart on the possible easing of Covid-19 restrictions locally. In Parliament on Monday, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the government expects to raise the maximum group size for dining in at food and beverage outlets to five people from July 12.

Among the STI constituents, BUOU emerged as the best performer, gaining 3.5 per cent or S$0.05 to end at S$1.48. This was followed by F34 , which rose 2.45 per cent or S$0.11 to S$4.60.

D01 slumped to the bottom of the index, falling 0.94 per cent or US$0.04 to end at US$4.21. BN4 also slipped 0.74 per cent or S$0.04 to end at S$5.37.

On the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 287 to 209, as 1.9 billion securities worth S$959.64 million changed hands.(see Amendment note)

According to a Singapore Department of Statistics release on Monday, the Republic's retail sales rose 79.7 per cent year-on-year in May to S$3.3 billion, rebounding from the low base during the 2020 "circuit breaker".

UOB economist Barnabas Gan noted that the growth in retail sales "suggested that domestic demand was buoyant despite the implementation of Phase Two and Phase Two (Heightened Alert)", adding that "with the recent decline in locally-transmitted Covid-19 infections in Singapore to single-digit amid a gradual improvement in the labour market, retail sales growth should continue to expand for the rest of the year".

Across the region, Asian markets ended the day mixed.

Japanese shares slipped, amid concerns over rising Covid-19 infections in the country. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.64 per cent or 185.09 points to end at 28,598.19. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.59 per cent or 166.92 points to end at 28,143.50.

On the other hand, the benchmark Kospi ended up 0.35 per cent or 11.43 points at 3,293.21.

Amendment note: An earlier version of the article indicated that S$959.65 million worth of securities changed hands. The article has been amended to reflect this change.