Singapore stocks inch up with local bank gains; STI up 0.02%

Singapore stocks edged upward on Wednesday, October 28, with local banks leading the gains. The Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.02% higher, or 0.88 points, at 5,397.91. Among the blue-chip index's constituents, Satec led the gains, surging 2.2% to reach S$3.70. The worst performer among the STI's top performers was Mapletree Industrial Trust, which fell 2.8% to S$1.74, reporting a 6.6% decrease in its distribution per unit compared to the previous year's same quarter.

The three local banks - DBS, OCBC, and United Overseas Bank (UOB) - all ended higher, with DBS up 0.1% to S$73.99, OCBC up 0.2% to S$29.03, and UOB up 0.4% to S$41.54. Over the broader market, gains outnumbered losses 332 to 219, with 1.1 billion securities valued at S$1.4 billion traded. Addvalue Tech was the most actively traded stock by shares, with 75.9 million changing hands, while DBS had the highest trading volume in terms of value, with three million shares amounting to S$219.5 million.

Key regional indices also saw positive movements, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.2%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 1.1%, South Korea's Kospi increasing 6.6%, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advancing 0.1%.