Local shares ended Wednesday (Jun 28) on a slightly more upbeat note alongside most other market indices in South-east Asia, as investors scoured capital markets for opportunities.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended the trading day with a marginal gain of 0.1 per cent or 1.93 points at 3,207.28. Gainers outnumbered losers 289 to 216, after 1.2 billion securities worth a collective S$970.8 million changed hands, The Business Times reported.
Elsewhere in the region, the Nikkei 225 rose 2 per cent, and the Hang Seng Index and Bursa each gained 0.1 per cent. The ASX 200 also added 1.1 per cent, while the Kospi declined 0.7 per cent.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said that global equities have now returned to “business as usual” after some early-week jitters.
“Markets are taking some comfort from US economic indicators, which are showing no signs of an imminent ‘hard landing’ with regards to growth,” he said, noting that home sales data, consumer confidence and durable goods data from the US all painted “a rather pretty picture of the economy”.
“However, if the data continues to reflect economic robustness, it probably won’t be long before financial markets again start to fret about the interest-rate implications,” he warned.
