Singapore stocks: STI resumes Wednesday afternoon at 3,156.81, up 0.3% on day

THE local equities market, like its global peers, faced a relief rebound on Wednesday on news that Washington delayed tariffs on certain Chinese imports. While China's data dump for July disappointed, sentiment was little dented for market participants who have had to contend with recent political and economic worries.

Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) was trading at 3,156.81, up 10.08 points or 0.3 per cent, as at 1.05pm on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, shares in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea dropped while Australia was flat.

Shortly after the afternoon session commenced, volume on the Singapore bourse clocked in at 567.11 million securities traded and a total turnover of S$571.44 million. Both are on track to meet their respective seven-month daily averages.

Across the market, advancers bettered decliners 185 to 143. The bluechip index had nine of the 29 counters in trading in the red. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding remains halted since last Thursday when reports emerged of Beijing's probe into an individual linked to the firm.

Singtel, which fell S$0.05 or 1.6 per cent to S$3.13, was the benchmark index's most traded stock with 15.3 million shares changing hands. The telco's shares had fallen 4.8 per cent since posting a 35 per cent fall in net profit for Q1 last Thursday.

The local banks reversed Tuesday's losses. DBS Group Holdings was up S$0.21 or 0.9 per cent at S$25.02. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank gained S$0.16 or 1.5 per cent to S$11.16 and United Overseas Bank added S$0.20 or 0.8 per cent to S$25.95.

Wilmar International, one of July's main gainers on the back of the potential listing of its Chinese unit in Shenzhen, dropped S$0.15 or 3.7 per cent to S$3.90. On Tuesday, the agribusiness firm reported that Q2 net profit halved, missing street estimates.

Among cyclicially sensitive semiconductor counters, AEM Holdings advanced S$0.04 or 3.7 per cent to S$1.13 with 6.4 million shares.