Singapore shares open higher on Thursday following Wall Street upturn; STI up 0.3% 

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Thursday (Aug 25) as global markets sustained gains.  The Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.3 per cent or 8.52 points at 3,242 as at 9.01 am. Gainers outweighed losers 82 to 37 after 62.2 million securities worth S$40.9 million changed hands.

Yangzijiang Financial Holding was the most actively traded counter in the morning with 16.6 million shares transacted. The counter was down 1.3 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.38. Among index counters, Singtel traded 1.5 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$2.66 after 2.6 million shares changed hands.

The trio of local banks traded higher at Thursday’s open. DBS was up 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 at S$32.86, UOB gained 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$27.36, and OCBC opened 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$12.03.  

Over in the US, Wall Street equities broke a 3-day skid, ending higher on Wednesday as traders looked through mixed data to buy shares. Investors remained focused on a speech Friday by the US central bank chief hoping - but perhaps no longer expecting - to hear hints of a coming respite in aggressive interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent to finish the day at 32,969.23. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 4,140.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.4 per cent to end at 12,431.53.

European shares eked out gains by the close on Wednesday, buoyed by a rise in defensive stocks, though worries over a looming energy crisis and gloomy growth outlook kept gains in check.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.2 per cent higher, breaking a 3-day losing streak but hovering near 1-month lows.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, tracking overnight US gains ahead of a meeting of global central bankers that may offer clues about the future pace of interest rate hikes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.21 per cent or 58.92 points at 28,372.39 while the broader Topix index rose 0.18 per cent or 3.57 points to 1,970.75.