Singapore shares surged on Thursday amidst a broader regional recovery following a heavy sell-off earlier in the week, while Wall Street's robust overnight session also boosted investors' confidence.
The Straits Times Index (STI), a key benchmark for the Singapore Exchange, ranged between 4,827.79 and 4,877.62 throughout the day. It ended the session at 4,846.56, up 33.81 points or 0.7% compared to Wednesday's close.
In economic news, Singapore's total retail sales fell 0.4% year on year in January, according to data released by the Department of Statistics Singapore.
On the corporate front, shares of Ossia International (SGX:O08) surged nearly 44% at the close, as it completed the acquisition of a property along with the acquisition of a company, which owns another property.
Marco Polo Marine (SGX:5LY) closed 6% lower as it completed the placement of about 144.9 million shares at SG$0.145 each, to raise gross proceeds of SG$21 million.
Meanwhile, shares of Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) (SGX:5UL) were up over 5% at the close as Saeed Investments moved increased its stake in the company to 75.1% from 50.2% through the acquisition of 130 million shares from the company CEO, Bill Wong Siew Cheong.
STI up 0.7%; ST Engineering, Nio up 4%; UOL up 3%; Keppel, SGX up 2%; Singtel, SATS up 1%.