SINGAPORE – Local shares went north on Oct 18 on the back of regional gains sparked by China’s third-quarter growth exceeding expectations.
The jolt of optimism pushed the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.4 per cent or 14.94 points to 3,640.19, with gainers thumping losers 360 to 194 on trade of 1.1 billion securities worth $1.1 billion.
ST Engineering was the STI’s top gainer, up 2.1 per cent to $4.81, while the biggest decliner was Wilmar International, down 0.9 per cent to $3.28.
The local banks ended the week higher: DBS rose 0.5 per cent to $39.70; UOB gained 0.3 per cent to $32.60; and OCBC Bank was up 0.9 per cent at $15.40.
Most key regional indexes rose. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo climbed 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 3.6 per cent and Malaysian shares were up 0.3 per cent.
But the ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.9 per cent – its worst day in six weeks – though it still ended the week 0.8 per cent ahead.
China’s benchmark CSI 300 shot up 3.6 per cent on the gross domestic product data and new details about funding schemes that will initially pump as much as 800 billion yuan (S$147.8 billion) into capital markets.
Mr Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC, noted that China’s third-quarter GDP growth of 4.6 per cent beat street estimates but was still lower than the second quarter’s 4.7 per cent rise and the slowest pace in six quarters.
“Property continued to be a drag, but September’s retail sales, which (are) a gauge of consumer spending, provided a small ray of light,” he said.
“Overall, however, China’s economy is not out of the woods and continues to struggle.”
Wall Street was mostly
