SINGAPORE - A regional rally fuelled in part by a positive session on Wall Street overnight gave local shares a welcome weekend boost on May 10.

The Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.8 per cent or 24.75 points to close at 3,290.70, although it was little changed over the week. Gainers thumped losers 380 to 224 on trade of 1.3 billion securities worth $1.2 billion on the broader market.

Just two STI counters ended in the red: Seatrium fell 5.4 per cent to $1.76, while UOB slipped 0.03 per cent to $30.34. The other banks closed higher, with DBS Bank up 0.3 per cent to $35.40, and OCBC Bank ahead 1.5 per cent to $14.12. Hongkong Land was the STI’s top gainer for the day, climbing 2.5 per cent to US$3.35.

Dyna-Mac was the most actively traded by volume, with 262.5 million shares transacted. It rose 2.8 per cent to 37 cents. Keppel announced after markets closed that it had divested its entire 23.9 per cent stake in Dyna-Mac to units of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha for $100 million.

Elsewhere, key indexes in Australia, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong all rose, advancing between 0.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent, following the Wall Street gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.9 per cent to mark its longest winning streak of 2024.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq added 0.3 per cent.

Mr Vasu Menon, managing director for investment strategy at OCBC, noted that markets in 2024 suggested that many traders may be putting too much emphasis on interest rates as a driver of performance.

“We feel that the volatility and intermittent sharp drawdowns can offer opportunities for investors with the risk appetite and patience to take a medium-term view,” he said. “The broader medium-term outlook remains positive given decent economic and earnings fundamentals, and also because there is lots of dry powder that could offer firepower in time.” THE BUSINESS TIMES