Singapore shares inch higher at Thursday's open; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares entered Thursday's morning session in slightly positive territory, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 3.70 points or 0.2 per cent to 2,542.06 as at 9.05am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 98 to 32, after 51.9 million securities worth S$48.5 million changed hands.

Among the index securities, the most heavily traded by volume was Genting Singapore which gained S$0.01 or 1.5 per cent to S$0.70, with 5.2 million shares traded, while Singapore Telecommunications slipped S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent to S$2.14, with two million shares traded.

The trio of local lenders were mixed in early trade. DBS gained S$0.09 or 0.4 per cent to S$20.96, UOB added S$0.02 or 0.1 per cent to S$19.59, while OCBC slipped S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent to S$8.61.

On Wednesday, OCBC announced that the participation rate in its scrip dividend scheme comprised three-quarters or 75.2 per cent of shareholdings, with nearly 67.5 million new ordinary shares allotted and issued to shareholders. The bank had declared a dividend of 15.9 Singapore cents a share for the first half of the year, with the scrip dividend scheme applicable.

Other active stocks included engineering-centric firm CSE Global which rose S$0.02 or 4.4 per cent to S$0.48 on Thursday. Meanwhile, Jardine Matheson Holdings sank US$0.78 or 1.8 per cent to US$43.26.

Over on Wall Street, US equities gained ground on Wednesday following more favourable comments from US President Donald Trump on fiscal stimulus spending.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.9 per cent to finish the session at 28,303.46. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.7 per cent to 3,419.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.9 per cent to 11,364.60.

European stocks mostly fell on Wednesday, failing to join a recovery in global equities, with bluechip stocks weighing the most.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index edged 0.1 per cent lower to break a four-session winning run, while blue chips fell 0.3 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, tracking rebounds on Wall Street after Mr Trump appeared to soften his stance on a further stimulus package.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.3 per cent or 77.84 points at 23,500.66 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.2 per cent or 3.89 points to 1,650.36.