Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 1.3% to 3,025.04 at the close, its highest since June 18, 2008. Almost six stocks rose for each one that fell on the 30-member gauge.

Shares on the measure trade at 14.7 times estimated earnings, compared with about 17.5 times at the beginning of the year, according to Bloomberg data. The following shares were among the most active in the market. 

 

Developers: City Developments (CIT SP), Singapore’s second-biggest homebuilder, advanced 4.6% to $12.66, leading developers higher on speculation a slump in interbank borrowing costs will boost demand for homes.

 

CapitaLand (CAPL SP), Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, gained 2.3% to $4.05. Keppel Land (KPLD SP), the property unit of Keppel Corp., rose 2% to $4.12.

 

“We expect a slight appreciation in prices for mass housing,” Kim Eng Securities analyst Wilson Liew said in a telephone interview. “The cost of borrowing is very attractive for home buyers.”

 

Jardine Matheson Holdings (JM SP), which owns real estate, supermarkets and drugstores in Asia and run hotels worldwide, surged 5.1% to US$41.60, the biggest advance on the benchmark index. The company said first-half net income quadrupled to US$1.05 billion on a higher contribution from its property unit.

 

Jardine Strategic Holdings (JS SP), the owner of half of Jardine Matheson, increased 3.5% to US$24.30. The company said underlying earnings in the first half rose 66% to US$698 million ($945 million) from a year earlier.

 

SMRT Corp. (MRT SP), Singapore’s biggest operator of taxis and buses, slumped 5.4% to $2.10, the biggest decline on the Straits Times index. The stock was downgraded at brokerages including Deutsche Bank AG after first-quarter profit missed some analysts’estimates.

 

Stats Chippac STAT SP) gained 1.7% to $1.17. The provider of semiconductor test and assembly services plans to sell US$600 million of 5-year senior notes to fund a tender offer, according to a person familiar with the transaction. The company said it has commenced a cash offer for its 6.75% notes due 2011.

 

Tiger Airways Holdings (TGR SP), the budget carrier partly owned by Singapore Airlines (SIA SP), climbed 5.4% to $2.16. The company said it will ally with Thai Airways International Pcl (THAI TB) to form a new low-fare carrier amid rising demand for leisure travel in Asia.