Singapore shares open slightly higher on Tuesday; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday (Jul 12) morning, the first trading day after the Hari Raya public holiday, even as Wall Street was in the red.

The Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.1 per cent or 2.58 points to 3,133.84 as at 9.02 am. However, decliners outnumbered advancers 87 to 55 after 45.4 million securities worth S$65.4 million changed hands.

Marco Polo Marine was the top traded counter by volume, jumping 3.5 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.03 with some 5.7 million shares traded in the morning.

Other heavily traded securities include Jiutian Chemical , which opened 2.3 per cent or S$0.002 lower at S$0.086 with 5.6 million shares changing hands, as well as OKH Global , which saw 3.3 million shares traded at the open as its shares surged 6.7 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.032.

Index counter Genting Singapore was also heavily traded, sliding 1.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.72 with 1.5 million shares changing hands.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. As at 9.02 am, DBS gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.15 to S$30.18 and UOB opened 0.6 per cent or S$0.17 higher at S$26.58. On the other hand, OCBC slid 0.6 per cent or S$0.07 to S$11.38.

In the US, Wall Street stocks fell on Monday after news of another Covid-19 surge in China and anticipation of US inflation data and earnings reports later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.5 per cent at 31,173.84. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.2 per cent to 3,854.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.3 per cent to 11,372.60.

Over in Europe, shares also fell on Monday, dragged lower by economy-sensitive stocks as concerns over energy supply and China’s Covid-19 cases hurt risk appetite and heightened recession fears.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index snapped a 3-day winning streak to end 0.5 per cent lower, after posting its best week in 7 on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday, extending Wall Street falls following news of another Covid-19 surge in China as investors awaited US inflation data later in the week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47 per cent or 126.75 points at 26,685.55 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.41 per cent or 7.77 points at 1,906.89.