STI advances 1.4% on positive data releases

THE Straits Times Index (STI) rose 34.12 points or 1.38 per cent to 2,500.74 on Thursday, buoyed by optimistic data releases such as a modest improvement in August's international visitor numbers in Singapore, and Chinese official Purchasing Manager's Index numbers which topped consensus expectations in September.

Over Wednesday night on Wall Street, equities also rose as US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said negotiators will attempt "one more serious try" on a fiscal stimulus deal.

On the Singapore bourse, about 1.1 billion shares worth S$918.8 million changed hands.

Most of the 30 index constituents finished in the black; only two ended flat - Mapletree Logistics Trust and Singapore Exchange - for the day. The index's top performer was Dairy Farm International, which added US$0.13 or 3.45 per cent to US$3.90, coming on the back of its announcement that its sterling equivalent of its 2020 interim dividend will be paid on Oct 14 at 3.8855 pence per share.

The second best performer was property developer UOL, whose subsidiary United Industrial Corporation (UIC) on Tuesday said that its president and CEO Lim Hock San has retired on Sept 30. Chief operating officer Jonathan Eu will oversee the company's operations and expansion strategy, working with UOL's Group CEO Liam Wee Sin. UOL has a more than 50 per cent stake in UIC. UOL's shares added S$0.18 or 2.71 per cent to S$6.83.

Sembcorp Marine topped the most active list for the third straight day, adding S$0.008 or 5.48 per cent to S$0.154 on hopes of a potential merger with Keppel's offshore and marine unit. Some 192.3 million shares changed hands.

Chinese and Hong Kong's markets were closed for public holidays. The Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading on Thursday citing technical problems - making it the first full-day suspension since it began all-electronic trading in 1999; the Nikkei 225 closed flat. Malaysia's KLCI ended 0.53 per cent lower for the day.