Singapore shares closed 0.64 percent higher on Monday as investors shrugged off a bleak growth outlook for the city-state, dealers said. The Straits Times Index added 17.85 points to 2,825.39. Volume traded totalled one billion shares worth 1.12 billion Singapore dollars (817 million US).
Singapore's ministry of trade and industry on Monday cut this year's growth forecast to 4.0-5.0 percent from 4.0-6.0 percent previously. It said the economy grew an annual 2.1 percent in the second quarter but shrank 6.0 percent on an annualised, quarter-on-quarter basis. "The economy is slowing as the US economy appears to be starting to affect countries in Asia and elsewhere," said Alaistair Chan, a Sydney-based economist at Moody's Economy.com.
Among the risers were Singapore Airlines which rose six cents to 15.10, Singapore Telecommunications added six cents to 3.58 and Neptune Orient Lines was 23 cents higher at 2.75. For the banks, DBS advanced eight cents to 18.78, United Overseas Bank firmed 12 cents to 19.78 but Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp was off six cents at 8.10.