Singapore shares rise at open after upbeat GDP, non-oil exports data; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Tuesday following news that gross domestic product grew 1.3 per cent in Q1, outperforming advance estimates of a 0.2 per cent growth.

The Republic also raised its full-year trade outlook for 2021, on the back of a "better-than-expected" showing in the first quarter. Non-oil domestic exports are projected to grow by 1 per cent to 3 per cent year on year, trade agency Enterprise Singapore said on Tuesday.

On the Singapore bourse, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.7 per cent or 21.7 points to 3,145.31 as at 9.03am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 105 to 32, or about three securities up for every one down, after 81.8 million securities worth S$80.6 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Yinda Infocomm, which held steady at 30.5 Singapore cents, with 8.9 million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included Genting Singapore, which gained 1.2 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.82, with 5.1 million shares traded, as well as Sembcorp Marine, which advanced 1.1 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent to 19 cents, with 4.5 million shares traded.

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT) lost 1.4 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.42. The counter resumed trading on Tuesday after FLCT's manager announced the proposed acquisition of six freehold properties in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK on Monday. A private placement to partially fund the proposed deal raised S$335.8 million and was around 2.8 times subscribed, the manager said on Tuesday.

Banking stocks rose in early morning trade. DBS was up 0.6 per cent or S$0.19 to S$29.96, UOB rose 1 per cent or S$0.25 to S$25.94, while OCBC increased by 1.1 per cent or S$0.13 to S$12.17.

Other active index counters included Mapletree Industrial Trust, which rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.83, as well as Singtel, which was up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.45.

Wall Street stocks were back in rally mode on Monday, with all three major indices in positive territory the entire session - contrasting the choppy performance in recent weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 per cent to 34,393.98, the S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to 4,197.05 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.4 per cent, to 13,661.17.

In Europe, stocks held close to record highs on Monday with technology stocks leading the charge. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.1 per cent to 445.07 points, just below its record high of 446.19 points.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday tracking gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.5 per cent to 28,503.67 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.3 per cent to 1,918.56.