(June 3): Singapore stocks have finally gained 20% from their March lows, as the city-state struggles to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark Straits Times Index advanced to 2,680.35 as of 3:16 p.m. on Wednesday, its third straight day of gains. This will make it one of the last major country gauges in Asia to enter a technical bull market, several weeks after its regional peers beat it to the punch.
The index plunged more than 30% from a January high to a March low, as virus concerns roiled equity markets and economies globally. Singapore’s gross domestic product is expected to shrink 4%-7% this year, its worst contraction since independence in 1965, as the pandemic pummels the trade-reliant economy.
The city-state now has one of the highest number of recorded infections in Asia, with more than 35,000 cases.
