Singapore shares edge up with Asia amid US stimulus afterglow; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks were pulled into positive territory on Friday, following a strong lead from Wall Street overnight.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) market strategist Geoff Howie told The Business Times on Friday that Asia trading is following the overnight broad-based gains, which was led by technology, commodity and real estate stocks.

"The Straits Times Index (STI) has put on a 3.1 per cent gain so far this week, posting similar highs between the 3,110 and 3,120 level on Tuesday and Thursday, with that band to serve as a reference point for the open," he said.

Across Asia, and then in Europe, focus will be on manufacturing reports, added Mr Howie.

On the Singapore bourse, the benchmark STI gained 7.87 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,113.88 as at 9am. Gainers outnumbered losers 90 to 34, after 138.1 million securities worth S$68.6 million changed hands.

Among the actively traded counters, Soilbuild Business Space Reit gained 0.5 Singapore cent or 0.9 per cent to 54 cents, with 3.9 million units traded. This comes after its unitholders voted in favour of a proposed privatisation and its Australia assets disposal.

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Mapletree Logistics Trust gained S$0.02 or 1.1 per cent to S$1.82, with 2.2 million units traded.

The trio of local lenders were also up in early trade. DBS added S$0.16 or 0.6 per cent to S$28.47, UOB gained S$0.10 or 0.4 per cent to S$25.45, while OCBC was up S$0.04 or 0.3 per cent to S$11.79.

Meanwhile, Sembcorp Industries rose S$0.02 or 1.1 per cent to S$1.83. On Friday, the energy and utilities group said it has been awarded a 60 megawatt-peak solar project by the Housing & Development Board and the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Over on Wall Street, US indices finished at fresh records on Thursday, as investors cheered the new US$1.9 trillion US economic relief package that has bolstered confidence in the country's rebound.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 per cent to 32,485.59, concluding at an all-time high for the second consecutive day. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to 3,939.34, also a record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.5 per cent to 13,398.67.

"While the passing of the third US pandemic relief bill was expected, US markets have the added context that domestic daily confirmed Covid-19 cases have recently fallen to less than a quarter of the peaks seen in January. At the same time the country has administered close to 100 million vaccine doses," said SGX's Mr Howie.

European stocks hit their highest level in a year on Thursday, as worries about a spike in inflation eased and the European Central Bank (ECB) said it was ready to accelerate money-printing to keep a lid on eurozone borrowing costs. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose for a fourth straight session, adding 0.5 per cent to the previous day's gains.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday on ECB's stimulus bond buying and the US stimulus package. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.3 per cent or 80.53 points at 29,292.17 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.08 per cent or 1.51 points to 1,926.43.

In a market commentary on Friday, DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang noted that Asia-Pacific markets look set to gain following a strong US lead.

"Futures across Japan, China, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are pointing to open modestly higher. On the macro front, data continued to support a brighter recovery outlook and may offer stock markets further strength," she said.

"The latest US weekly jobless claims figure came in at 712,000, better than the baseline forecast of 725,000. It also marked a continuous decline from January's peak, reflecting an improving picture of labour market sentiment with the roll-out of vaccines paving the way for a gradual economic reopening," added Ms Yang.