Singapore share prices powered to a new record high on Thursday for a second straight session on institutional interest in energy-related stocks, dealers said. They said Singapore's strong economy was also a boost to investor sentiment.
Singapore's raised its 2006 growth forecast to 7.5-8.0 percent from 6.5-7.5 percent after the economy grew stronger than expected in the third quarter. The main Straits Times Index finished at 2,838.48 points, up 8.46 points or 0.30 percent from Wednesday's close of 2,830.02.
Volume traded totalled 1.55 billion shares worth 1.31 billion Singapore dollars (845 million US). There were 373 rising issues, 247 losers and 716 issues were even. "The market is showing a lot of strength," said a dealer with a local brokerage. "It is a confluence of good factors and positive growth outlook."
Energy stocks were the crowd-puller on expectations earnings momentum will remain strong over the next few years.
These include Keppel Corp which rose 0.50 to 17.00 and SembCorp Marine was up 0.04 at 3.26. For the blue chips, Singapore Airlines climbed 0.10 to 16.00, Singapore Telecommunications was flat at 2.97, ST Engineering rose 0.02 to 3.08 and Neptune Orient Lines added 0.01 to 2.010.
In the property sector, City Developments fell 0.10 to 12.60, CapitaLand was flat at 6.00 and Keppel Land advanced 0.25 to 6.80. For the technology sector, Creative Technology was flat at 10.30, Venture added 0.1 to 14.10 and United Test and Assembly fell 0.005 to 0.74.