Singapore shares rise at Wednesday's open after mixed close on Wall Street; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Wednesday (Jan 5), following a mixed close on Wall Street and other international markets.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 7.17 points to 3,188.30 as at 9.03 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 69 to 52, after 55.8 million securities worth S$60.3 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was digital security firm DiSa 532 , which opened flat at S$0.009, with 9.4 million shares changing hands as at 9.03 am.

Other heavily traded counters include Hatten Land PH0 , which gained 2 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.052, with 4 million shares changing hands. This comes after the property developer announced that an associate company, which it has a 19.3 per cent equity interest in, was granted a recognised market operator (RMO) licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The licence recognises ECXX Global as a RMO in respect of operating an organised market for securities and collective investment schemes from Jan 1.

Index counter Genting Singapore G13 was among the most actively traded securities on Wednesday morning, with about 4.5 million shares traded. The counter opened at S$0.785, up S$0.005 or 0.6 per cent.

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS D05 was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$33.73, UOB U11 increased 0.9 per cent or S$0.25 to S$27.80, while OCBC O39 opened flat at S$11.70 as at 9.03 am.

Over on Wall Street, the Dow was lifted to a fresh record as banking and industrial shares led the market, while the tech-rich Nasdaq retreated amid worries over higher interest rates on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6 per cent at 36,799.65. The broad-based S&P 500 edged away from a record close, shedding 0.1 per cent to end at 4,793.54, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.3 per cent to 15,622.72.

Meanwhile, European stocks extended their new year rally on Tuesday, led by economically sensitive banks and travel stocks on signs that the Covid-19 Omicron variant might be less severe than initially feared.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.8 per cent higher at 494.02 points, hitting a record high for a second consecutive session.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index opened flat on Wednesday as investors digested the impact of a cheaper yen against the dollar.

The benchmark index was down 0.1 per cent or 15.79 points at 29,286.00 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.4 per cent or 7.26 points at 2,037.48.