Singapore stocks extend gains on Thursday as Asia rebounds; STI up 1.4%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.4 per cent or 45.35 points to close at 3,240.73 points on Thursday (Mar 10), buoyed by a rebound in key Asian markets.

Japan's Nikkei jumped 3.9 per cent - its biggest increase in nearly 21 months. South Korea's Kospi climbed 2.2 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.3 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 1.2 per cent.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said: "The rebound in global equities is clearly playing out into today's Asia session as well, riding on a relief rally brought about by hopes of conflict de-escalation.

"Tensions between Russia and the West will clearly remain high, which brings into question whether this may translate further from a military war to an economic war," he added. "But for now, it seems that markets are in need of a breather, with the recent heavy sell-off and any small steps pointing to the potential end of war will be cheered by markets in the meantime."

In the wider Singapore market, gainers outnumbered losers 286 to 198, with 1.43 billion shares worth S$1.61 billion changing hands.

The top performer on the blue-chip index was Dairy Farm International (DFI), which clawed back from heavy losses earlier in the week. The counter rose 4.2 per cent or US$0.10 to close at US$2.51.

At the bottom of the table was Sembcorp Industries, which fell 2.6 per cent or S$0.07 to S$2.66.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) was the most heavily traded counter on the STI for the second straight day, with 29.6 million shares traded. The counter climbed 1.6 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.56.

The trio of local banks all registered gains. DBS rose 2 per cent or S$0.63 to S$32.89, UOB gained 2.2 per cent or S$0.65 to S$29.96 and OCBC added 2.1 per cent or S$0.24 to S$11.72.