Singapore shares closed 1.46 percent higher on Thursday, cheered by gains in Chinese stocks, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Timex Index (STI) climbed 36.79 points to 2,559.57 as it rebounded from the previous day's loss. Volume totalled 2.35 billion shares worth 1.61 billion Singapore dollars (1.15 billion US). There were 357 gainers, 140 decliners and 791 issues were even.
"After such a big selloff (recently), there should be some base-building," a dealer with a local brokerage said. "I see the STI coming down to about 2,400 eventually. If it can sustain above that level, the uptrend may resume, but if it goes below, people might start selling again." Among the blue chips, Singapore Airlines gained 18 cents to 12.90 and Singapore Telecom dipped one cent to 3.13.
Property developer CapitaLand was up 10 cents to 3.66, computer chip-maker Chartered Semiconductor added six cents to 2.33 and container shipping company Neptune Orient Lines advanced one cent to 1.62. Bank stocks close closed higher, with DBS up 10 cents to 12.68, United Overseas Bank rising 24 cents to 16.36 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp climbing 15 cents to 7.83.