Singapore share prices closed 0.25 percent higher on Thursday, tracking overnight gains in US stocks on bargain hunting following recent falls, dealers said. Cautious trading limited gains as investors remained concerned over the impact of the ailing US economy, they said.
The main Straits Times index rose 7.15 points to 2,917.92 on volume of 1.29 billion shares worth 1.53 billion Singapore dollars (1.11 billion US). Decliners led rising issues 337 to 302 with 1,015 stocks unchanged. Investors should gradually accumulate select blue chip stocks as the market's downside looks fairly limited at this stage, said Andrew Beal, London-based director of Pan Asian Equities at Henderson Global Investors.
"The downside from this point onwards looks fairly limited. Valuations look reasonable," Beal said. Banking shares were mixed, with DBS Group losing 22 cents to 17.00 dollars, United Overseas Bank up 10 cents at 17.94 dollars and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp up seven cents at 7.54 dollars.
Property heavyweights retreated, with CapitaLand falling 14 cents to 5.85 dollars, City Developments down 12 cents at 11.10 dollars and Keppel Land slipping three cents to 5.49 dollars. Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines dropped 28 cents to 15.02 dollars and Singapore Telecommunications was steady at 3.68 dollars.