Singapore shares soared 5.65 percent to their highest level in nearly seven months Monday, buoyed by signs the worst may be over for the US economy, the city-state's biggest market. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) rocketed 108.43 points to 2,028.71, tracking gains on other Asian markets. Volume totalled 2.82 billion shares worth 2.33 billion Singapore dollars (1.58 million US).
Gainers led losers 446 to 128, with 630 issues unchanged. The STI closed above the 2,000-point mark for the first time since October 15, 2008. Bank and property stocks led the gainers as investors ignored the A (H1N1) influenza virus outbreak to focus on early signs the recession-hit US economy may be stabilising.
"People are treating swine flu as a non-event and with the better US consumer confidence data, the market's perception now is that the economy is going to turn around," said Goh Mou Lih, head of research at Westcomb Securities. On Friday, new data showed that the pace of contraction of the US factory sector in April was less severe than expected.
DBS Bank advanced a dollar to 10.50, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rose 59 cents to 6.47 and United Overseas Bank jumped 1.30 dollars to 12.80. Among property shares, CapitaLand gained 21 cents to 2.97, City Developments climbed 82 cents to 7.30 and Keppel Land closed 10 cents up at 1.82. Singapore Airlines gained 50 cents to 11.20 while Singapore Telecommunications eased three cents to 2.53.
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