Singapore shares rose to their highest in more than five years on Tuesday, tracking U.S. stock market which closed at a record high in the previous session.
The Straits Times Index rose 0.6% to 3,382.93, the highest since January 2008.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1%, after the S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high on Monday.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore’s second-largest lender, traded flat at $10.92, retreating from a record high of $11.07 last week. It reported a 16% fall in first-quarter profit earlier in the day.
Other banking shares rose to their highest since 2008. Shares of United Overseas Bank matched Monday’s five-year high of $21.39, and DBS Group Holdings rose to the highest since mid-2008.
“Banking shares are doing well, helped by expectation that the Cyprus crisis may push some money to migrate from Europe to Singapore,” said a trader, who declined to be named.
Shares of Starhub hit a record high of $4.76 and Singapore Telecommunications extended gains for the second straight session.
Shares of Aussino Group jumped 7% to $0.107, recovering from a 40% slump in the previous session after the Singapore Exchange rejected its application for a $70 million reverse takeover deal with a company linked to a Myanmar tycoon who is on the U.S. sanction list.
CapitalVia SGX
CapitalLand boost the market
2013-05-01 19:34