Singapore stocks: STI resumes Tuesday afternoon trading, up 1.8% on day

SINGAPORE equities resumed trading on Tuesday afternoon reversing losses at the open, with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 48.60 points or 1.8 per cent to 2,830.97 as at 1.06pm.

The recovery seen in the city-state's bluechip index comes after both it and Wall Street indices had their worst sessions since the fourth quarter of 2008.

Oanda's Asia-Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that equities picked up after both US President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence outlined potential fiscal stimulus measures, including payroll tax package they hope to clear through the US Congress.

Traders also pointed out that equities were being supported by investors buying counters on the dip after 18 of the STI's 30 components recorded 52-week lows on Monday.

Shortly after the afternoon session began, volume traded on the Singapore bourse clocked in at 945.4 million securities with a total turnover of S$1.29 billion. Volume is on track to beat its 2019 intraday average while turnover has already exceeded last year's daily average.

Across the market, advancers outpaced decliners 261 to 194. The bluechip index had four of the 30 counters trading in the red.

Singtel was the most traded STI counter. The telco was up S$0.08 or 2.9 per cent to S$2.89 with 30.1 million shares changing hands.

The local lenders are also rebounding off their 52-week lows on Monday. DBS gained S$0.32 or 1.5 per cent to S$21.47, OCBC Bank added S$0.18 or 1.9 per cent to S$9.70. while United Overseas Bank was trading at S$21.89, advancing S$0.39 or 1.8 per cent as at 1.05pm.

Among real estate investment trusts (Reits), industrial and commercial reits resumed their climb. Ascendas Reit units added S$0.06 or 1.8 per cent to S$3.32 and Mapletree Commercial Trust units were trading S$0.04 or 1.8 per cent higher at S$2.25.

Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes The Business Times, was the STI's biggest gainer in percentage terms. The media and property group jumped S$0.16 or 9.2 per cent to S$1.90.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, equity benchmarks in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan were also up after Monday's bloodbath, where they had fallen between 3 and 7 per cent.