Singapore shares close mixed
Posted: 19 November 2009 1821 hrs

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SINGAPORE - Singapore shares closed mixed on Thursday, with the key blue-chip index rising 0.5 per cent but losers overwhelmed gainers in the broader market.

Cheered on partly by Singapore's recovery from a recession, the blue-chip Straits Times Index rose 13.75 points to 2,758.79.

Volume totalled 1.28 billion shares worth S$1.25 billion. But losers beat rising issues 265 to 205 while 778 counters were steady.

"Effectively, the recession in Singapore is over," Ravi Menon, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), said at a news briefing.

Data released Thursday by the MTI showed gross domestic product rose 14.2 per cent in the three months to September on a quarter-on-quarter annualised basis after a 21.7 per cent surge in the April-June period.

The ministry also for the first time projected its outlook for 2010 with estimates of a growth of 3.0-5.0 per cent, which will be a sharp turnaround from expectations of a decline of 2.0-2.5 per cent this year. Singapore's economy grew 1.1 per cent in 2008.

Singapore Airlines fell two cents to S$14.12 but Singapore Telecommunications added three cents to S$2.95.

For the banks, DBS gained two cents to S$14.60, United Overseas Bank put on 12 cents to S$19.50 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp was 10 cents higher at S$8.46.

- AFP/ir