Singapore stocks edge up amid regional rally; STI up 0.3%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or 10.73 points to close at 3,201.89 on Tuesday (May 17), along with other major Asian indices.

Within the region, the Hang Seng Index surged 3.3 per cent; Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 0.7 per cent, and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.5 per cent.

In the wider market, gainers beat losers 296 to 203, with 1.7 billion shares worth S$1.4 billion changing hands.

Singapore posted its non-oil domestic export (NODX) figures, which rose 6.4 per cent year on year in April. The NODX figures came in marginally lower than the 6.5 per cent growth expected by private-sector economists responding to a Bloomberg poll.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong noted that the overall NODX data highlighted some resilience in the manufacturing sector, with the potential easing of Covid-19 restrictions in China being a catalyst for growth.

At the top of the STI was ComfortDelGro : C52 0%, which gained 4.3 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$1.47.

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This comes as the company posted a 3.9 per cent increase in revenue to S$859.9 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2022 last Friday (May 13) evening. The company also reported that public transport ridership in Singapore was “slowly improving”.

At the bottom of the table was Keppel DC Reit : AJBU 0%, which declined 1 per cent or S$0.02 to close at S$1.94.

The trio of local banks ended mixed. DBS : D05 0% fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.19 to S$31.04. UOB : U11 0% gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$28.63 and OCBC : O39 0% climbed 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$11.74.