Singapore shares rise amid mixed regional showing; STI up 0.2%

[SINGAPORE] Shares on the Singapore bourse closed higher on Monday (Oct 6), continuing its record-breaking streak.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 9.76 points to end at a new high of 4,421.71.

Paul Chew, head of research at Phillip Securities, said that although the Singapore equity market has reached record highs recently, these gains must be taken into context.

He noted that the market has gained 13 per cent over 17 years.

“We don’t think such gains suggest speculative excess,” he said, adding that he maintains a positive outlook for Singapore equities in the fourth quarter of this year.

Chew expects the Singapore equity market to undergo a meaningful rerating of valuations.

The STI’s top gainer on Monday was defence technology company ST Engineering , which rose 2.8 per cent or S$0.24 to S$8.94.

The biggest decliner was DFI Retail Group . The counter fell 2.4 per cent or US$0.08 to US$3.30.

Casino operator Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter on the STI by volume, with 63.7 million units worth S$46.2 million traded. The counter fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.725.

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The three local banks all ended the day higher. DBS climbed 0.6 per cent or S$0.34 to S$53.20, UOB added 0.4 per cent or S$0.14 to close at S$35.39, and OCBC rose 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$16.84.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 326 to 240, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.

Elsewhere in the region, key indices were mixed.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 4.8 per cent to close at a record high of 47,944.76 after hardliner Sanae Takaichi’s appointment as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party paved the way for her to become Japan’s next prime minister.

Malaysia’s KLCI gained 0.2 per cent, while Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.1 per cent.