Singapore stocks continue rally, mirroring regional indices; STI up 0.5%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Monday (Feb 9), tracking regional indices.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.5 per cent or 26.42 points to finish at 4,960.83. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index lost 0.6 per cent or 8.32 points to 1,493.28.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 432 to 165 after 1.3 billion securities worth S$2.4 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were in positive territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.8 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.9 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was up 4.1 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 1.1 per cent.

The STI was buoyed by its top gainer, ST Engineering , which rose 4.1 per cent or S$0.40 to end at S$10.11.

All but three of the STI’s 30 constituents posted gains at the end of trading on Monday. Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust closed flat.

DBS , meanwhile, fell 1.9 per cent or S$1.11 to close at S$58.19, after its fourth-quarter results missed forecasts.

OCBC rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.15 at S$21.38, and UOB was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.20 at S$38.70.

The best performer on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 was Frencken , which rose 6.6 per cent or S$0.11 to close at S$1.78. The index’s worst performer was ParkwayLife Reit , which fell 1.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$4.03.

Investors were buying the dip on Feb 6, said Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. This, he added, drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fresh highs.

Despite a disappointing earnings call by Amazon on Feb 5, investors are increasingly focused on overall profit growth, which has been firm.

“Meanwhile, basement animal spirits are offering value hunters opportunities to accumulate shares amid a general sense on Wall Street that the selling has gone too far,” said Torres.