Singapore shares move in tandem with Wall Street rally
The STI was up 25.47 points or 0.6 per cent to 3,989.76 points, after the United States indexes S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended at record highs on June 30.
Elsewhere in Asia, some indexes edged higher after their respective countries reported improvements in their latest purchasing managers' index, noted private banking and asset management group LGT.
Over in Singapore, gainers led decliners 247 to 148 across the broad market. Transactions came in at 1.25 billion of securities totalling $1.15 billion in value.
The top gainer on the STI tally was Hongkong Land, with its shares spiking US$0.35 or 6.1 per cent to US$6.12, a day after it announced that it had repurchased 664,000 shares – to be scrapped – over two recent trading sessions at a weighted average price of about US$5.80.
The counter of QAF reached a 52-week-high at $0.91, up 1.1 per cent or $0.01, a day after the food company, which is also in the distribution and warehousing business, reported an increase in the interest of joint group managing director Lin Kejian.
Mr Lin acquired 115,500 shares for nearly $1 million, which raised his direct interest by 0.02 per cent to 0.968 per cent, and his deemed interest to 39.171 per cent.
Meanwhile, CapAllianz was the most active counter with 433.1 million shares transacted, but closed unchanged at $0.003. The Catalist-listed investment holding firm owns a subsidiary engaging in software development and IT consulting and holds a 20 per cent stake in oil concessions. THE BUSINESS TIMES
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
36 minutes ago
- Business Times
Trump tax-cut plan returns to US House, Republicans divided on Bill
[WASHINGTON] The debate within President Donald Trump's Republican Party over a massive tax-cut and spending Bill returns to the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Jul 2), as party leaders try to overcome internal divisions and meet a self-imposed Jul 4 deadline. The Senate passed the legislation, which nonpartisan analysts say will add US$3.4 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade, by the narrowest possible margin on Tuesday after intense debate on the Bill's hefty price tag and substantial cuts to the Medicaid healthcare programme. Similar divides exist in the House, which Republicans control by a 220-212 margin and where a fractious caucus has regularly bucked its leadership in recent years – though members have so far not rejected major Trump priorities. 'The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump's full America First agenda by the Fourth of July,' House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday, citing the Bill's extension of Trump's 2017 individual tax cuts and increased funding for the military and immigration enforcement. The House Rules Committee advanced the Senate Bill overnight by a 7-6 vote with two Republicans – hardliners Chip Roy and Ralph Norman – voting against it. Johnson can afford to lose no more than three votes if all members are present, though a series of storms on Tuesday night complicated lawmakers' travel plans, prompting some to drive through the night towards the Capitol. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Hardliner anger over spending The loudest Republican objections against the Bill come from party hardliners angry that it does not sufficiently cut spending and includes a US$5 trillion increase in the nation's debt ceiling, which lawmakers must address in the coming months or risk a devastating default on the nation's US$36.2 trillion debt. 'What the Senate did was unconscionable,' Norman, a South Carolina Republican, said on Tuesday. One of several fiscal hawks who spoke out against the Senate Bill's higher price tag, he accused the Senate of handing out 'goodie bags' of spending to satisfy holdouts. Trump for weeks has pushed for passage ahead of Friday's Independence Day holiday and kept up the pressure on Wednesday. 'Republicans, don't let the Radical Left Democrats push you around. We've got all the cards, and we are going to use them,' Trump said in a social media post. Democrats are united in opposition to the Bill, saying that its tax breaks disproportionately benefit the wealthy while cutting services that lower and middle-income Americans rely on. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that almost 12 million people could lose health insurance as a result of the Bill. 'This is the largest assault on American healthcare in history,' Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday, pledging that his party will use 'all procedural and legislative options' to try to stop – or delay – passage. The version of the Bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday would add more to the debt than the version first passed by the House in May. The CBO on Tuesday raised its estimate for how much the Senate Bill would increase the budget deficit through 2045 by US$100 billion, to US$3.4 trillion. The Bill includes more than US$900 million in cuts to the Medicaid programme for low-income Americans. Those cuts also raised concerns among some House Republicans. 'I will not support a final Bill that eliminates vital funding our hospitals rely on,' Republican Representative David Valadao of California said before Senate passage. Timing difficulties But some House Republicans worried about social safety-net cuts could find solace in the Senate's last-minute decision to set aside more money for rural hospitals, funding Representative Nick Langworthy, a New York Republican, called 'a lifeline that will be very helpful to districts like mine'. Any changes made by the House would require another Senate vote, making it all but impossible to meet the Jul 4 deadline. Any Republican public opposition to the Bill risks irking Trump, as was the case when the president slammed Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who announced his retirement after coming out in opposition to the Bill. Another former Trump ally, the world's richest person Elon Musk, this week resumed an active campaign against the Bill over social media, blasting its deficit-building effects. That has reignited a feud between Trump and Musk. REUTERS

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
China's Luckin Coffee opens first two US stores in New York
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Luckin Coffee's move to open in New York challenges Starbucks, which is struggling with declining US sales. Luckin Coffee, the Chinese chain that overtook Starbucks back in its home market, is turning up the heat with the opening of its first US locations in New York on June 30. The move to open two New York locations drums up competition between China's biggest coffee chain and Starbucks, which is struggling with declining US sales. In China, the Seattle-based company's business has been undercut by lower-priced home-grown rivals such as Luckin. Starbucks declined to comment. Luckin did not reply to a request for comment. Luckin's new location at 800 6th Avenue was filled with customers on June 30, many of them enjoying a US$1.99 (S$2.50) drink deal off the chain's app. The company recently teased its store openings in New York, hosting a pop-up shop for taste tests and free prizes. Its US Instagram account has more than 2,000 followers. Luckin expanded rapidly in China before being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2020 due to an accounting scandal. After shifting leadership, the chain surpassed Starbucks to become China's biggest coffee retailer in 2023. It now has more than 24,000 stores globally and is looking to expand. Starbucks has lost ground in China since the Covid-19 pandemic. The company has also sought to bulk up staffing in the US in a push to revive sales, in part by speeding up service. Luckin's app offers online ordering and in-store pickup, like Starbucks, and also includes a point system for earnings discounts and potentially winning free coffee for a year. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
US: Wall Street opens slightly lower after weak jobs data; Tesla rises
US STOCKS opened lower on Wednesday (Jul 2) as surprisingly weak US private jobs data raised concerns about the labour market, while Tesla rose sharply after its second-quarter deliveries report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.3 points, or 0.09 per cent, at the open to 44,455.66. The S&P 500 fell 4.1 points, or 0.07 per cent, at the open to 6,193.88, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 18.5 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 20,184.374 at the opening bell. REUTERS