Singapore shares rise on upbeat exports data; STI up 0.2% at open

SINGAPORE stocks started the week on stronger ground, after Enterprise Singapore data showed that non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose for a third straight month in April, exceeding analysts' expectations.

NODX increased 9.7 per cent last month from a year earlier backed by a 12.8 per cent surge in non-electronics exports that included a 174.3 per cent gain in pharmaceuticals, 66.3 per cent rise in food preparations and a 25 per cent rise in non-monetary gold.

The Republic's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.2 per cent or 4.94 points to 2,528.49 as at 9.05am on Monday.

Gainers outnumbered losers 103 to 44, or more after 117.3 million securities worth S$68.2 million changed hands.

Among the most active counters by volume was Thai Beverage Public Co (ThaiBev), which rose 0.8 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent to 67.5 cents, with 4.4 million shares changing hands as at 9.06am. ThaiBev said at its online results briefing on Friday that off-trade consumption is likely to be accelerated as consumers become more accustomed to purchasing online or from supermarkets during the lockdown.

Other heavily traded securities on Monday morning included Singapore Airlines, which lost 1.8 per cent or S$0.07 to S$3.83, with 1.7 million shares traded. The national carrier on Thursday posted a net loss of S$732.4 million in the fourth quarter, with analysts downgrading the stock ahead of its full-year results.

Singtel gained 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.67 with 1.7 million shares traded. 

The trio of local banks all rose in early morning trade. DBS was trading up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$19.01 as at 9.06am, OCBC gained 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$8.74, while UOB gained 0.4 per cent or S$0.07 to S$19.47.

Other active index counters included Keppel Corp, which rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.01 to S$6.00, and SATS, which was flat at S$2.62 as at 9.06am.

Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.28. The company said on Friday that it expects its revenue for the year ending Dec 31, 2020 to be between 5 per cent and 15 per cent lower compared to 2019.

In the US, Wall Street's three major indices closed higher after swinging between gains and losses on Friday as investors weighed worries about Sino-US trade relations and weaker-than-expected US economic data against growing optimism that easing coronavirus restrictions will boost activity this month.

European stocks also closed higher on Friday, but marked their worst weekly losses since mid-March as rising US-China tensions added to concerns that a global economic downturn may be here longer than feared.

In Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday as investors appeared to shrug off data confirming the Japanese economy has slipped into its first recession since 2015.