STI Weekly Wrap and Macroeconomic Factors for Last Week

STI Singapore Weekly Summary:

Singapore's benchmark index hit a two-year high after rising for the third straight day and 2nd consecutive week.

STI opens above the 3200 mark this week too @ 3213 level and then continuously traded for upwards and crossed its major resistance of 3240 mark, made week & also 2 year high @ 3269.31 and closed for the week @ high i.e. 3269.31with gain of 58.09 points up by 1.78% wow basis.

Some 3.13 billion shares, valued at S$1.78 billion were traded. Gainers outnumbered losers 296 to 174.

Snapshot of Macroeconomic factors for last Week:

Singapore's industrial production likely contracted 4.2 % in December from a year ago, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Reuters, indicating the city-state's fourth quarter and full-year 2012 GDP will be revised downwards.

Singapore's inflation rate accelerated last month driven once again by housing and transport costs.

Department of Statistics data showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in December 2012 rose 4.3 % from a year earlier, after increasing 3.6% on-year in November. Accommodation cost inflation reached 8.5 % in December, following a 6.6 % gain the previous month.

Singapore share prices ended 0.5% higher on further signs that China's manufacturing sector is picking up steam. Preliminary China manufacturing PMI figures from HSBC came in at 51.9 for January, up from December's 51.5.