STI ticks 0.3% higher, buoyed by Wall Street's overnight showing

SINGAPORE shares rose, led by a broad-based rally in Wall Street overnight as the US Federal Reserve provided clarity on its rate-hike trajectory, easing some of the angst over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The key Straits Times Index inched up 9.25 points or 0.29 per cent to 3,253.65 on Thursday, alongside gains across major equity gauges in the region from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and Malaysia. China bucked the trend and finished lower.

While acknowledging that the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for the US economy are "highly uncertain", US Fed chair Jerome Powell suggested that a 25 basis point rate hike was coming at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later this month, ruling out expectations of a 50 basis-point hike. He also guided for active responses to manage inflation. Traders took comfort from his remarks, which suggest that the central bank believes the US economy is strong enough to withstand the negative impacts brought about by the Ukraine crisis, including rising commodity prices.

Crude prices soared on Thursday, sending the global crude benchmark Brent to the highest since 2014, and US crude, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to 11-year highs as the conflict in eastern Europe heightened fears of an energy-supply disruption.

On the back of that, oil plays on the Singapore Exchange saw galvanised trading. Both RH Petrogas and Rex International continued their upward trajectory and hit levels last seen 2015 and 2014 respectively.

Turnover on the local bourse came in at 2.35 billion units worth S$1.47 billion. Thursday's gains were led by Venture Corp, OCBC and Wilmar International.

Gainers outpaced losers, with 280 counters up and 197, down.

As commodity plays shone, coal miner Geo Energy Resources hit a 9-year high, climbing S$0.05 or 10.64 per cent to S$0.52 on active trading with 64 million shares done. The firm, which has mines in Indonesia - the world's largest coal exporter - recently impressed with its second-half earnings report card. It posted a net profit of US$130 million for the six months ended December 2021 from US$28 million a year ago, led by stronger coal prices.

SGX's market strategist Geoff Howie said that Geo Energy and RH Petrogas ranked among the top 10 Singapore listcos in terms of highest net institutional inflow proportionate to market capitalisation so far this year.

Sembcorp Marine was robustly traded, with 457 million shares changing hands. The counter finished S$0.01 or nearly 12 per cent higher at S$0.094. DBS Group Research earlier this week issued a "hold" rating on the counter, and raised its 12-month target price from S$0.08 to S$0.09, saying it could raise the target valuation further if more signs emerge on order wins and operational improvement. A successful yard merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine would also be long-term positive for the offshore and marine firm, the house added.