Singapore stocks gain on Thursday amid thin trading; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks rose on Thursday (Dec 23), tracking gains in other regional exchanges, amid thin trading activity in the market ahead of the holidays.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or 9.30 points to close at 3,096.81.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 265 to 169 after 878.5 million shares worth S$515.8 million changed hands.

Elsewhere in the region, key indices in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea rose between 0.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent. The positive sentiment came as several studies suggested that the Omicron Covid-19 variant is less likely to put people in hospital than the Delta variant, even though it may be more contagious.

On the local bourse, units of Keppel DC Reit were the biggest decliner on the STI, shedding 1.2 per cent to close at S$2.40. Meanwhile, shares of Dairy Farm International ended the day on top of the STI performance table, closing at US$2.75, up 2.2 per cent.

Travel-related counters Singapore Airlines and SATS, which saw declines a day earlier, were among the top gainers, rising 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. Genting Singapore shares also closed higher, climbing 0.7 per cent to S$0.76.

RHB's Singapore research team said in a note on Thursday that the Omicron variant poses some uncertainty to Genting Singapore's earnings recovery path, but they believe that this is just a temporary hurdle.

They maintained a buy call with a target price of S$0.90, noting that the counter's current valuation is attractive to accumulate for an eventual tourism recovery play.