Singapore shares open higher on Friday

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Friday as initial results from Britain's referendum on whether to leave the European Union pointed to Brexit.

The Straits Times Index was up 3.46 points or 0.12 per cent to 2,797.31 at the opening bell. As at 9.01am, some 36.3 million shares worth S$45.6 million changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 62 to 40.

This optimism mirrored the performance of Tokyo stocks which saw the benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rise 0.59 per cent or 95.52 points to 16,333.87 in opening deals, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.70 per cent or 9.13 points to 1,307.84.

In the United States, stocks rose with the S&P Index posting its strongest gain in a month. The S&P 500 added 1.3 per cent to 2,113.32 at 4pm in New York, mirroring a rise in European shares. The pan-European Stoxx 600 and FTSEurofirst 300 indexes rose 1.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, both ending at their highest point in about two weeks.