Singapore stocks post modest gains after Wall Street rally, STI up 0.13%

SINGAPORE shares eked out modest gains on Tuesday as Wall Street indices - propelled by continued positive sentiment on additional stimulus - hit fresh records on Monday.

The Straits Times Index (STI), which dipped into negative territory in the afternoon session, recovered to close at 2,935.27, up marginally by 3.87 points or 0.13 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan ended the day in positive territory with Japan's benchmark Nikkei index climbing to a new 30-year high. Korea and Indonesia, on the other hand, closed lower.

Oanda's senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "With most of Asia shutting down for Lunar New Year, starting with Taiwan and Vietnam tomorrow, liquidity will steadily erode in Asia, where trading appears muted already today."

"That will leave those markets that are still open, vulnerable to headline-driven, temporary volatility spikes," he added.

In Singapore, some 2.38 billion securities worth S$1.30 billion changed hands. Across the market, advancers outpaced decliners 255 to 190.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Among the STI constituents, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the best-performing stock with shares climbing 6.7 per cent or 6.5 Singapore cents to S$1.04. On Monday, the shipbuilder said it bagged agreements to build and deliver 29 vessels with a total contract value of US$1.3 billion.

At the bottom of the table was Thai Beverage, reversing gains following the group's confirmed plans to list its brewery unit. Shares of the Thai-based and Singapore-listed conglomerate fell 1.8 per cent or 1.5 Singapore cents to 82.5 cents. It was also the most heavily traded stock on the blue-chip index, with about 89.9 million shares changing hands.

Among the banking trio, DBS and UOB found themselves in the red. DBS lost 0.8 per cent or S$0.22 to S$25.93 while UOB shed 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 by S$23.84. OCBC continued to post gains, edging up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$10.45.

Other heavily traded securities outside the STI include Thomson Medical, which was up 20.4 per cent or 0.01 Singapore cent to 5.9 cents, with 115.9 million shares traded. The mainboard-listed group on Monday posted a net profit of S$8.1 million for its first half ended Dec 31, 2020, a reversal from its loss of S$1.9 million in the year-ago period.