Singapore shares open higher on Friday; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Friday, with the Straits Times Index gaining 12.09 points, or 0.3 per cent to 3,492.53 as at 9.01am.

This came after US stocks closed higher overnight, on news that US President Donald Trump seems to be softening his stance on trade tariffs.

On the Singapore bourse, about 34.7 million shares worth S$73 million changed hands.

Gainers outnumbered losers 94 to 26.

The most actively traded counters were Genting Singapore, which was flat at S$1.13 with 2.8 million shares traded; and Courts Asia, which was flat at S$0.28 with 1.98 million shares traded.

Other active index stocks included Jardine Cycle & Carriage, which was up 0.8 per cent to S$36.18; and Singtel which was up 0.6 per cent to S$3.37.

Elsewhere in Asia, stocks in South Korea and Japan also rallied on the prospect of a Trump-Kim meeting, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered to stop nuclear testing, and arrange a meeting with Mr Trump.