[SINGAPORE] The Straits Times Index (STI) closed higher on Thursday (Jul 24), tracking regional indices.
The STI ended 1 per cent or 41.77 points up at 4,273.05.
Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 356 to 223, after 2.4 billion shares worth S$1.9 billion changed hands.
The trio of local banks continued to rise on Thursday. DBS gained 2.2 per cent or S$1.08 to close at S$49.21, UOB was up 0.3 per cent or S$0.13 at S$37.36, and OCBC advanced 0.3 per cent or S$0.06 to S$17.27.
ST Engineering was the top gainer on the STI, closing up 7.1 per cent or S$0.59 at S$8.86.
The biggest loser was Hongkong Land, which declined 2.2 per cent or US$0.14 to US$6.19.
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Across the region, major indices were up, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 0.2 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advancing 1.6 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.5 per cent higher, and Malaysia’s KLCI gained 0.7 per cent.
Traders are riding on the optimism that the worst-case tariff scenarios may have been priced too pessimistically, said Stephen Innes, managing partner, SPI Asset Management. The trade deal announced between the US and Japan on Wednesday cut tariffs on Japanese imports to 15 per cent, rather than the 25 per cent that US President Donald Trump had earlier threatened. This is said to have provided a lifeline for global risk appetite.
The rumours that the US-European Union accord could mirror the same 15 per cent figure have given stocks wind beneath their wings, added Innes.
“The tariff average settling at 15 per cent – if achieved – would be seen as damage control rather than destruction. Markets, ever forward-looking, are repositioning for a softer landing,” he noted.
