Singapore stocks open higher on Monday; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares edged up on Monday amid mixed performance among index stocks and bank counters.

This also comes as the Republic looks to bring business back to Singapore through its unilateral move to welcome visitors from Brunei and New Zealand, a move that was announced on Friday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 1.78 points to 2,530.32 as at 9.03am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 94 to 44, after 134.6 million securities worth S$48.7 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Jiutian Chemical, which rose 4.4 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent to 4.8 cents with 32.7 million shares changing hands as at 9.03am.

Other heavily traded securities include Vicplas International, which advanced 11 per cent or 6.5 Singapore cents to 65.5 cents with 9.3 million shares traded, and Singtel, which held steady at S$2.28, with 2.4 million shares changing hands.

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 at S$20.75 as at 9.03am, UOB fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.07 to S$19.85, while OCBC dipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$8.66.

Other active index counters were Wilmar International, which rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$4.47, and Genting Singapore, which declined 0.7 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent to 69 cents.

Wall Street saw new records for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 on Friday. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to finish at 3,397.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent to end at 11,311.80. Meanwhile, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 per cent to close at 27,930.33.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened flat on Monday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.04 per cent to 22,912.27 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.01 per cent to 1,604.28.