Singapore equities ended the holiday-shortened trading week higher, with the Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 45.15 points, or 0.79%, to close at 5,743.59 on Friday.
The Singapore Exchange was closed on Monday, Aug 10, following Singapore’s National Day celebrations on Sunday, Aug 9, leaving four trading sessions for the week.
The STI started strongly on Tuesday, rising 55.74 points, or 1.0%, to 5,754.17. It climbed to an intraday record of 5,774.21 before easing from the day’s high.
Trading remained active, with around 1.6 billion shares changing hands worth approximately S$3.6 billion. Market breadth was positive, with 327 gainers against 281 decliners. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was among the stronger blue-chip performers while Singapore Airlines lagged.
The market then gave back some of those gains on Wednesday as investors took profits following Tuesday’s record-setting session. The STI fell around 34 points, or 0.59%, to about 5,720.05.
The index stabilised on Thursday, slipping 0.01% to 5,720.05 as investors remained cautious following the previous day’s pullback. The STI traded between 5,667.09 and 5,732.39 during the session, with volume at around 397.74 million shares.
Singapore stocks regained ground on Friday, with the STI rising 23.54 points, or 0.41%, to 5,743.59. The index touched an intraday low of 5,668.02 before recovering to finish at its session high.
Genting Singapore led the blue-chip gainers on Friday, while trading volume stood at around 458.43 million shares.
The weekly advance extended the STI’s winning run to a 10th consecutive week, with the index also up around 23.62% year-to-date.
The STI ended the week 45.15 points above its previous week’s close of 5,698.44, despite the mid-week pullback following Tuesday’s record high.
