Singapore shares open higher on Tuesday; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares got off to a positive start on Tuesday (Dec 28) following overnight rallies on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 ended at a second consecutive record.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 7.42 points to 3,111.66 as at 9.02 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 99 to 29, after 35.8 million securities worth S$16.2 million changed hands.

Mainboard-listed RH PetroGas T13 was the most active counter by volume, rising S$0.006 or 3.9 per cent to S$0.16 after 4.3 million securities were traded.

Other heavily traded stocks include Dimethylformamide producer Jiutian Chemical C8R , which gained S$0.003 or 4.4 per cent to S$0.072 with some 3.2 million shares changing hands.

Thomson Medical Group A50 also saw brisk trading at the open. The healthcare provider edged up S$0.001 or 1.2 per cent to S$0.084 after 2.1 million shares were transacted.

The trio of banks started the morning in positive territory. DBS was the biggest gainer of the 3, rising S$0.07 or 0.2 per cent to reach S$32.57. UOB added S$0.04 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.77, while OCBC climbed S$0.02 or 0.2 per cent higher at S$11.34.

Major indices on Wall Street were a sea of green at Monday's (Dec 27) close as investors bet the latest surge in Covid-19 cases will cause only a limited economic hit.

The S&P 500 ended at a second consecutive record, up 1.4 per cent at 4,791.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1 per cent to 36,302.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 per cent to 15,871.26.

European shares also ended higher in thin trading on Dec 27, led by gains in technology and healthcare stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.6 per cent to close at 485.49.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened higher on Tuesday as investors' risk-on sentiment was buoyed after gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.9 per cent or 264.37 points to 28,940.83 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.9 per cent or 16.9 points to 1,994.75.