STI rises for third straight day on hopes of economic recovery

SINGAPORE shares extended gains on Wednesday, boosted by sustained optimism over the easing of lockdowns.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) recorded its third climb in a row, ending at 2,700.39, up 88.76 points or 3.4 per cent. The STI's performance also tracked Wall Street's overnight rally on the back of lifted investor sentiment over stimulus measures and reopening of economies. 

Gainers outnumbered losers 311 to 200; 1.94 billion shares worth S$2.51 billion changed hands.

Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, said: "A scintillating start to the month for global equity markets as investors put virtually every concern on the universal wall of worry behind them, while reacting positively to coronavirus lockdowns being eased across the globe."

Markets have seemingly put aside fears on the possibility of a second wave of infections, renewed United States-China tensions and the unrest on the streets of US. 

Among the STI constituents, the best performer was ComfortDelGro, which rose 8.1 per cent or S$0.12 to S$1.61. It was also the most heavily traded stock of the day, with over 70 million shares changing hands.

The local banks emerged among the top five best-performing STI counters. DBS climbed 7.9 per cent or S$1.59 to S$21.80, UOB was up 6.6 per cent or S$1.33 to S$21.60, while OCBC rose 5.3 per cent or S$0.47 to S$9.36. 

The three biggest losers on the index were Mapletree Logistics Trust, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Ascendas Reit, which were down 3.0 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

The STI's performance was in line with other regional benchmarks, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.