Singapore shares track Wall Street gains; STI up 1.1%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Thursday to echo overnight rallies on Wall Street, which was boosted by news that several million doses of a new coronavirus vaccine could be on the way.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 1.1 per cent or 32.58 points to 2,957.16 within the first minute of the open.

Gainers outnumbered losers 149 to 36 after 99.1 million securities worth S$102.5 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded counters by volume was Jiutian Chemical, which rose 0.3 Singapore cent or 3.1 per cent to 9.9 cents after 3.4 million shares changed hands as at 9.01am.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the most active index security at the open as 2.9 million shares worth S$3 million were traded. Its share price remained unchanged at S$1.04.

At the same time Sembcorp Marine rose 0.2 Singapore cent or 1.3 per cent to 15.4 cents, after some 2.6 million shares changed hands.

Shares of Singapore's banks were in the green on Thursday morning. DBS gained S$0.45 or 1.8 per cent to S$26.85 in early trade, while OCBC rose S$0.19 or 1.8 per cent to S$11.04.

Shares of UOB were up by S$0.51 or 2.1 per cent at S$24.39, after the bank announced that its net profit for its fourth quarter fell 32 per cent to S$688 million as net interest income declined. The results were largely in line with an average estimate of S$696.3 million of four analysts, according to data from Refinitiv.

Over on Wall Street, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average shook off early weakness on Wednesday following dovish comments from the Federal Reserve chief and progress on another coronavirus vaccine. It jumped 1.4 per cent to close at 31,961.86, a new all-time high.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.1 per cent to end at 3,925.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.0 per cent to 13,597.97 after two days of declines.

European shares rose on Wednesday as sectors primed to benefit from economic recovery were supported by strong German growth data, although concerns over a possible rise in inflation and lofty equity valuations kept gains in check. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.5 per cent higher.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, shadowing Wall Street's overnight gains. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.3 per cent or 381.25 points at 30,052.95 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.1 per cent or 21.53 points to 1,924.60.