STI up 1.6% on Tuesday, clocks strongest daily gain since May

INVESTOR optimism continued to be lifted on the local bourse on Tuesday, as the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) extended its gains to close up 1.58 per cent or 49.57 points at 3,190.59.

This marks the STI's strongest daily gain since its 2.04 per cent gain on May 18, noted Singapore Exchange (SGX) market strategist Geoff Howie.

On Monday, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament that the additional Covid-19 support measures for Singapore's "Heightened Alert" period are expected to cost S$1.2 billion, and that there will be no need to draw on past reserves again.

In a note on Tuesday, DBS Group Research analysts said that while the extra aid is "smaller relative to past measures, (this) signifies that the economy is adapting with only targeted support needed".

Among the STI constituents, AJBU and C6L were the top advancers for the day. They each rose 3.6 per cent to end at S$2.59 and S$5.18 respectively.

The trio of banks also made gains on Tuesday. D05 and O39 climbed 2.9 per cent and 2.35 per cent to close at S$30.87 and S$12.20 respectively; U11 closed up 1.74 per cent at S$26.37.

The DBS analysts maintained their view that domestic reopening names such as C52, J69U and VL6 "should lead", while travel and leisure stocks are still expected to lag "as the reopening of borders for Stay Home Notice-free leisure travel to Singapore from the top five countries by tourism receipts (pre-Covid) may not occur any time soon". The countries include China, Australia and Japan.

On the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 311 to 205, with 1.85 billion securities worth S$1.63 billion changing hands.

SGX's Mr Howie said: "The local market was easily the strongest across Asia today, which firmly placed the STI as the strongest benchmark across the globe over the past five sessions.

"Over the five sessions, Singapore markets have been treated to an end-of-quarter rebalance, robust economic reports and targeted support measures."

Elsewhere in Asia, markets ended the day mixed. The benchmark Kospi gained 0.36 per cent to close at 3,305.21, while the Nikkei 225 Index reversed Monday's losses to end up 0.16 per cent at 28,643.21.

On the other hand, Chinese markets closed lower. The Hang Seng index slipped 0.25 per cent to close at 28,072.86, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.11 per cent down at 3,530.26.