Singapore shares open higher on Friday; STI up 0.5% to 3,586.51

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Friday, with the Straits Times Index gaining 0.5 per cent, or 16.49 points, to 3,586.51 as at 9.03am.

About 60.2 million shares worth S$106.4 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$1.77 per share.

The most actively traded counter was Ezion, which rose S$0.004, or 3.13 per cent, to S$0.132 with 8.53 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Magnus Energy and Singtel.

Active index stocks included DBS at S$29.95, up S$0.21 or 0.71 per cent, and Venture at S$22.30, up S$0.08 or 0.36 per cent.

Gainers outnumbered losers 97 to 36.

In US stocks overnight, Wall Street stocks jumped on Thursday after blowout earnings from Facebook ignited a rally in shares of large technology companies. Among major indices, the Nasdaq Composite Index was the leader, piling on 1.6 per cent to 7,118.68.

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, underpinned by gains on Wall Street and investor confidence in corporate earnings, as well as expectations of a positive tone at a landmark inter-Korean summit.