STI up 0.06%, tracking Wall Street optimism on peace talks

SINGAPORE stocks inched up on Tuesday (Mar 29) led by optimism on Wall Street over peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Some regional markets also saw uplifts, buoyed further by a fall in oil prices.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.06 per cent or 1.91 points to close at 3,433.9.

1.72 billion shares worth S$1.4 billion were traded in the local market, with gainers outpacing losers 254 to 202.

However, all 3 banks finished the day in the red, with UOB UOB down 0.68 per cent or S$0.22 to S$32.16, DBS DBS down 0.53 per cent or S$0.19 to S$35.97, and OCBC OCBC closing 0.16 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$12.39.

Key Asian equity indices fared mixed.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent; Korea's benchmark Kospi was up 0.42 per cent; while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.12 per cent.

Mainland Chinese markets were dragged by the lockdown in Shanghai, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.33 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite Index down 0.57 per cent.

In Asean, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 0.91 per cent while the Jakarta Composite Index lost 0.54 per cent.

Dairy Farm International DFI was the top gainer on the STI, climbing 5.7 per cent of US$0.15 to close at US$2.78, clawing back some losses from the recent weeks. The counter had suffered a slew of downgrades earlier this month amid weaker-than-expected performance across the group's segments.

At the bottom of the table was inflight caterer and ground handler SATS SATS, which fell 0.91 per cent or S$0.04 to finish at S$4.34.

Capitaland Integrated Commercial Trust ( CICT ) CICT was the most actively traded counter on the index, with 41.5 million units worth S$93.4 million changing hands. It ended at S$2.24, up 0.45 per cent or S$0.01. CICT had announced last week that it would acquire a Grade-A office building at 79 Robinson Road for S$1.3 billion, in a move generally viewed positively by analysts.