STI climbs 1.5% on Wall Street gains; DBS rises to 52-week high

OVERNIGHT Wall Street gains drove the Straits Times Index (STI) to rise in tandem, with the Singapore blue-chip index closing 1.5 per cent or 46.88 points higher at 3,181.13 points on Tuesday (Jan 4).

However, Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) dipped 5.21 per cent to S$1.82, making it the worst STI performer for the second straight day, after the announcement last Friday of its proposed merger with Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust. MCT units closed 4 per cent lower on Monday.

By contrast, DBS bank closed at a 52-week high of S$33.71, after posting a 2.81 per cent gain. An RHB report expects the banks to benefit from economic recovery and higher interest rates.

Disa saw the highest trading volume with about 343.3 million shares transacted, and shares of this digital security company closed at S$0.009 or 12.5 per cent higher.

Decliners trailed gainers 202 to 271 in the broader market, with 1.6 billion securities worth S$1.38 billion transacted.

Markets in Asia turned in a mixed performance.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.95 per cent to 7,589.76 points, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.77 per cent to 29,301.79 points, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.06 per cent to 23,289.84 points.

South Korea's Kospi was flattish at 2,989.24 points with a 0.02 per cent gain.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.2 per cent to 3,632.33 points and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI finished 0.46 per cent lower at 1,541.90 points.