Singapore shares edge up at Tuesday's open; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks opened stronger on Tuesday tracking US gains overnight.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.7 per cent or 18.95 points to 2,582.64 as at 9.08am on Tuesday.

Gainers outnumbered losers 140 to 44, after 74.7 million securities worth S$76.8 million changed hands.

Among the most active counters by volume was Thai Beverage Public Co, which rose 1.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.71, with 4.6 million units changing hands as at 9.14am. 

Other heavily traded securities included CapitaLand Mall Trust, which rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.81 with 2.5 million shares traded. 

Singtel gained 0.7 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.74 with 2.4 million shares traded. The telco, alongside M1, has been helping broadband supplier NetLink NBN Trust deliver fibre installations for their respective customers after NetLink warned last month of longer waits for service fulfilment.

The trio of local banks all rose in early morning trade. DBS was trading up 0.8 per cent or S$0.16 at S$19.73 as at 9.14am, OCBC gained 1.1 per cent or S$0.10 to S$8.97, while UOB gained 0.9 per cent or S$0.17 to S$19.98.

Other active index counters included Singapore Airlines, which traded flat at S$5.95 as at 9.14am, ST Engineering, which rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.02 to S$3.26, and UOL Group, which gained 1.4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$6.73. 

In the US, Wall Street stocks finished higher on Monday, shrugging off early weakness and a big drop in airline shares as Florida joined the ranks of US states reopening their economy.

Investors had been encouraged by moves in several large states to gingerly reopen for business following coronavirus closures, generally employing social distancing measures, stepped-up sanitation practices and mask requirements at stores.

Meanwhile, European stock markets ended Monday lower as investors were greeted with fresh Sino-US tensions following a May Day break, after Washington threatened tariffs against China over the coronavirus.

In Asia, Hong Kong stocks rose at the start of business Tuesday as bargain-buying after the previous day's steep losses offset data showing the city's economy suffered its worst contraction on record in the first quarter.