SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended higher on April 8 after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.8 per cent, or 38.04 points, to finish at 4,996.05.

Sats led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 4.5 per cent, or 16 cents, to $3.72.

The worst performer among STI constituents was DFI Retail Group, which fell 3.5 per cent, or 16 US cents, to US$4.38.

The three local banks ended mixed. OCBC rose 0.1 per cent, or two cents, to $22.32, and UOB was up 1.2 per cent, or 45 cents, at $37.32. DBS, meanwhile, finished 0.3 per cent, or 17 cents, lower at $57.30.

The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index lost 0.1 per cent, or 0.93 point, to close the day at 1,466.43.

Yangzijiang Maritime was the index’s top gainer, rising 9.3 per cent, or five cents, to 59 cents. First Resources was the biggest decliner, falling 4.6 per cent, or 14 cents, to $2.91.

Across the broader market, gainers trounced losers 481 to 178, after 2.2 billion securities worth $2.7 billion changed hands.

Key regional indexes reacted positively to the latest development between the US and Iran. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 3.1 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.4 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was up 6.9 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 1.2 per cent.

Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted that while the ceasefire does not guarantee stability, it removes the immediate threat of escalation.

“The shift (in prices) came not from price discovery but from diplomacy, with Pakistan stepping in to carve out a two-week window that pulled the system back from a hard geopolitical edge,” he added.

“Equities responded not out of optimism, but out of release. Asia’s sharp move higher was a direct function of that pressure valve opening.”