Singapore shares rose 2.64 percent on Monday on hopes the worst was over for the recession-hit economy, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed 48.26 points higher at 1,876.77 on volume of 1.38 billion shares worth 941 million Singapore dollars (621 million US). Gainers outnumbered losers 350 to 139, with 703 issues unchanged.
"On the macro front, we believe that the economy is showing signs of bottoming and the worst may be over soon," said DBS Vickers Securities. "We are expecting a second-half recovery, as a result of the aggressive stimulus packages and the monetary easing policies that the central banks world-wide are adopting," it added.
Banking shares closed up, with DBS gaining 34 cents to 9.25, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp up 23 cents to 5.69 and United Overseas Bank advancing 28 cents to 10.78. Among property shares, City Developments rose 25 cents to 5.90 while CapitaLand and Keppel Land edged up seven cents apiece to 2.73 and 1.69 respectively.
Singapore Airlines eased six cents to 11.40 while Singapore Telecommunications rose three cents to 2.58. Motor vehicle firm Jardine Cycle and Carriage surged 86 cents to 14.08 and real estate developer Yanlord Land Group closed 15 cents higher at 1.42.