Singapore share prices closed 0.29 percent higher on Friday led by gains in banks and offshore marine issues amid a buoyant economy, dealers said. However, gains were limited by profit-taking in select blue chip stocks and Wall Street's lacklustre performance on Thursday, they said.
The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 10.28 points to 3,561.96. There were 4.10 billion shares traded valued at 2.15 billion Singapore dollars (1.41 billion US). Losers outnumbered gainers 423 to 385, with 696 stocks unchanged. A dealer with a local brokerage said rotational interest in banks underpinned Friday's trade, adding however that the market was in a consolidation mode following recent rallies.
The dealer expects the index to trade sideways in the near term until fresh leads come up, particularly when the corporate earnings reporting season begins. Banking stocks were well supported after UBS Investment Research raised its target price for all Singapore lenders on expectations of robust growth in lending and in fee-based income.
DBS Group Holdings added 0.30 to 22.90, United Overseas Bank gained 0.50 to 22.70 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rose 0.05 to 9.25. Keppel Corp, the world's biggest maker of oil drilling rigs, was up 0.10 at 12.30, SembCorp Industries jumped 0.15 to 5.70 dollars, and SembCorp Marine advanced 0.10 to 4.90. COSCO Singapore added 0.08 to 3.96. Some blue chips were weaker on profit-taking.
Neptune Orient Lines was the biggest loser, falling 0.40 to 5.35. Singapore Airlines dropped 0.30 to 19.00 and Singapore Telecommunications dipped 0.02 cents to 3.40. Property heavyweights were mixed, with City Developments down 0.10 at 16.80, CapitaLand flat at 7.90 and Keppel Land up 0.05 cents at 8.50.
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