Singapore shares open higher on Monday; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Monday, following a mixed session on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent or 13.1 points to 3,108.32 as at 9am. Advancers outnumbered decliners 123 to 33, after 162.9 million securities worth S$105 million changed hands.

Oceanus was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 134.4 million securities worth S$5.7 million changing hands. As at 9.14am, Oceanus shares were trading at four Singapore cents, 11.1 per cent or 0.04 cent up.

Shen Yao was the most actively traded counter by value, with two million securities worth S$10,000 being traded. Shen Yao shares were trading at 0.4 Singapore cent, 33.3 per cent or 0.1 cent higher.

The three local banks were higher in early trade. DBS was up S$0.15 cent or 0.5 per cent at S$28.25. UOB was up S$0.24 or 1 per cent at S$25.64. OCBC Bank was up $0.02 or 0.2 per cent at S$11.75.

The US opened at a mix last friday, amid tech shares losing out in the battle between optimism over a stronger economy and concerns about inflation. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index recovered from the lowest point of the day, closing down 0.6 per cent at 13,319.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9 per cent to 32,778.64, setting another record, while broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 3,943.34, adding four points to the all-time high set Thursday.

In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx 600 retreated 0.3 per cent, after a four-session winning streak drove it to pre-pandemic highs a day earlier. The index posted weekly gains of 3.5 per cent, its best performance since November.

Elsewhere in the region, Tokyo stocks opened marginally higher on Monday, in cautious trade after a mixed close on Wall Street, with eyes on key global data and central bank meetings this week. The Nikkei 225 index was up 0.03 per cent or 8.96 points at 29,726.79 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.20 per cent or 3.84 points to 1,954.90.