Singapore Shares Close Shy of 5,000 Milestone as Islamabad Peace Talks Boost Sentiment
Singapore shares recorded gains on Friday to end the week in green, as the Asian market reacted positively to a tentative geopolitical de-escalation in the Middle East ahead of the highly anticipated talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad.The Straits Times Index (STI), a key benchmark for the Singapore Exchange, ranged between 4,973.10 and 4,999.30 throughout the day. It ended the session at 4,989.41, up 12.33 points or nearly 0.3% compared to Thursday's close.On the corporate front, shares of BH Global (SGX:BQN) were down nearly 7% at the close as it proposed to renew its share buyback mandate.Metis Energy (SGX:L02) closed over 2% higher as it reported three consecutive years of pre-tax losses for its three most recent financial years.Meanwhile, shares of City Developments (SGX:C09) were nearly flat as it established a SG$2 billion multicurrency perpetual bonds issuance program.