Singapore shares open higher after Wall Street's record close; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks began Tuesday on stronger ground as global markets rallied on the signing of the United States' long-awaited US$2.3 trillion coronavirus relief Bill.

It also followed a Brexit trade deal signed between the UK and the European Union last week, as well as a cross-border European vaccination programme launched on Sunday.

On the Singapore bourse, the Straits Times Index rose about 0.1 per cent or 1.43 points to 2,841.57 as at 9.03am on Tuesday.

Gainers outnumbered losers 93 to 29, or about three counters up for every one down, as 67 million securities worth S$22.1 million changed hands.

One of the most active by volume was Sembcorp Marine, which held steady at 14.3 Singapore cents on 4.3 million shares traded.

Another heavily traded counter was First Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit), which continued its decline, dropping 15.1 per cent or four Singapore cents to 22.5 cents on some 3.9 million units. First Reit had plunged 34.6 per cent on Monday after its manager proposed a rights issue with an indicative issue price of 20 cents per unit.

Yinda Infocomm fell 4 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 9.5 cents, with 2.2 million shares traded, on Tuesday morning.

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 at S$25.16, UOB was down 0.2 per cent or S$0.04 at S$22.64, while OCBC declined 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$10.04.

Other active index counters included Singapore Airlines, which dropped 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$4.24, as well as Singtel, which was flat at S$2.33.

In the US, Wall Street indices closed at record highs on Monday after President Donald Trump backed down from his threat to block the US$2.3 trillion pandemic aid Bill, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government shutdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 per cent to hit 30,403.97, the S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent to 3,735.36 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.8 per cent to 12,899.42.

European shares, meanwhile, marked their strongest close in 10 months on Monday as spirits were lifted in thin holiday trade on recent positive news. The benchmark European stock index rose 0.7 per cent in a fourth straight day of gains, while German stocks ended 1.5 per cent higher at a record peak.

In Asia, Tokyo stocks tracked US gains to open higher on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 per cent to reach 26,936.38 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.3 per cent to 1,793.83.