Singapore stocks rise on Friday amid mixed Asian performance; STI up 0.6%

[SINGAPORE] Shares on the Singapore bourse closed higher on Friday (Feb 27) amid mixed regional trading. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.6 per cent or 30.69 points to finish at 4,995.07.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 10.7 per cent or S$0.42 to end at S$4.34.

The worst performer among STI constituents was manufacturing company Venture Corporation , falling 7.5 per cent or S$1.27 to close at S$15.63.

Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index lost 0.8 per cent or 12.59 points to 1,505.20.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Yangzijiang Maritime was the top gainer, rising 7.8 per cent or S$0.045 to finish at S$0.625, while PropNex led losses, shedding 8.5 per cent or S$0.19 to end the session at S$2.04.

Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 349 to 237, after two billion securities worth S$3.2 billion changed hands.

The three local banks ended mixed on Friday.

OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$21.43, UOB was up 0.6 per cent or S$0.21 at S$36.97, while DBS finished 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$57.12.

Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.4 per cent.

Eli Lee, chief investment strategist at the Bank of Singapore, wrote in a note on Friday: “Asia’s appeal to global investors is set to become more pronounced in the next few years, given compelling secular growth trends and its proposition as a viable diversification alternative for those with concentrated US dollar-based portfolios.”