Singapore stocks finish higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.3%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.3 per cent or 9.61 points to close at 3,138.02 points on Wednesday (Dec 29).

In the wider market, gainers outnumbered losers 274 to 156, with 868.1 million shares worth S$450.1 million changing hands.

"Singapore's import and export prices, and producer price index (PPI), will be of passing interest, if only because inflationary pressures continue to rise in the city-state. Higher than forecast year-on-year numbers could cause some reassessment of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's tightening path, although local equities seem as immune to that reality as they do everywhere else," said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

The top performer on the STI was Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT), which rose 1.3 per cent or S$0.02 to close at S$1.52.

Dairy Farm International Holdings fell to the bottom of the table, after 2 straight days as the top performer. The counter closed 1.7 per cent or US$0.05 lower at US$2.85.

The most heavily traded blue-chip counter was Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), with 19.1 million shares traded. The counter closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 higher at S$0.665.

In the broader Singapore market, fashion retailer FJ Benjamin clocked the highest trading volume, with 28.9 million shares traded. The counter jumped 4.2 per cent or S$0.001 to close at S$0.025.

The trio of local banks also ended higher. DBS rose 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$32.78, UOB gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.15 to S$27.05 and OCBC closed 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 higher at S$11.44.

Key Asian markets mostly ended lower on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6 per cent, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.3 per cent.