STI up 1.6%, in line with Asian market performance after Trump's announcement

THE Straits Times Index (STI) ended Monday up 40.11 points or 1.6 per cent at 2,550.86 points.

The STI's performance was in line with Asian markets, which rebounded after US President Donald Trump avoided pulling out of the US-China phase one trade agreement signed in January.

Said IG market strategist Pan Jingyi: "The highly anticipated Friday announcement from President Donald Trump yielded less aggravating than expected treatments, providing temporary relief for Asia."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 3.3 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.2 per cent. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index rose 1.2 per cent. Likewise, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.8 per cent, South Korea's Kospi gained 1.8 per cent and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was up 0.8 per cent.

Among the STI constituents, the best performer was Hongkong Land which gained 8.3 per cent or US$0.31 for the day to close at US$4.07.

Sembcorp Industries (SCI) also emerged among the top 10 best performing stocks of the day, gaining 3.7 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.41.

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DBS Group Research has upgraded SCI to "buy" from "hold" with an unchanged target price of S$1.70. The sell-off in SCI shares was likely due to the company's recent removal from the MSCI Index, pushing SCI's valuation to an "unwarranted low", according to the the research team.

At the bottom of the STI's table was Mapletree Logistics Trust, which saw a decline of 2.0 per cent to S$2.01.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 322 to 161 for the day with 2.18 billion shares worth S$2.11 billion changing hands.

The most heavily traded stock was ComfortDelGro, which dipped 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.43.

DBS Group Research has upgraded ComfortDelGro to "buy" with a raised target price of S$1.68 from S$1.50 previously on the back of the opportunity to accumulate the stock on weakness from the transport giant's removal from the MSCI Singapore index on May 29.