Singapore stocks open flat on Wednesday

SINGAPORE shares opened flat in early trade on Wednesday (Nov 3), with the The Straits Times Index (STI) declining 0.03 point to 3,232.34 as at 9.01 am.

Losers outpaced gainers 72 to 62, after 47.8 million securities worth S$61.2 million changed hands.

Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter by volume on Wednesday morning, with 3.3 million shares changing hands as at 9.01 am. Its share price remained flat at S$0.785.

Sembcorp Marine was also among the top 5 actively traded counters in terms of volume. Its share price fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.08 as at 9.01 am. On Tuesday (Nov 2), the mandatory general offer by Temasek for Sembcorp Marine turned unconditional after the total shares it owns, controls or agreed to be acquired crossed the 50 per cent threshold.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) was also actively traded with 1.7 million shares changing hands while its share price fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.12 as at 9.01 am. On Friday (Oct 29), a consortium comprising Hotel Properties, businessman Ong Beng Seng, and two Temasek-linked entities, CLA and Mapletree, made a rival offer to acquire SPH.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. DBS was up 0.6 per cent or S$0.20 to S$32.30.

UOB fell 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$27.38. UOB announced on Wednesday (Nov 3) that the net profit for its third quarter rose 57 per cent to S$1.05 billion, on the back of healthy loan growth and sustained fee income, as well as lower credit allowance.

OCBC rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$11.99 as at 9.01 am. Its net profit for the third quarter rose by 19 per cent to S$1.22 billion, the bank reported on Wednesday (Nov 3).

In the US, stocks finished at records on Tuesday (Nov 2), extending a recent bullish run fuelled by strong corporate earnings ahead of a closely watched Federal Reserve decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4 per cent at 36,052.63, its first close above 36,000 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.3 per cent to 15,649.60, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent to 4,630.65.

European shares also went up to a record high on Nov 2, as a strong outlook from hearing aid maker Demant supported healthcare stocks.

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1 per cent higher at 479.71 points, with healthcare stocks leading gains with a 1.3 per cent rise.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese shares ended lower on Tuesday (Nov 2) as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of a pivotal US Federal Reserve meeting that could reveal more about its plans to taper stimulus measures and hike rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index share average fell 0.4 per cent to 29,520.90, a day after posting its biggest daily gain since June following a solid election victory by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition. The broader Topix index lost 0.6 per cent to 2,031.67.