Singapore stocks open higher on Thursday, STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve indicated that accommodative monetary policies would continue even as the economy recovers.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 5.75 points to 3,225.31 as at 9.01am. Gainers outnumbered losers 77 to 34, after 108.2 million securities worth S$60.9 million changed hands.

Jiutian Chemical was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 57.6 million shares worth S$5.9 million changing hands as at 9.01am. The counter rose 2 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent to 10.2 cents.

Sembcorp Marine was also among the top traded counters, with 41 million shares worth S$9 million trading flat within the same amount of time.

Among index counters, Jardine Matheson was the top gainer, rising 2.4 per cent or US$1.57 to US$67.06 as at 9.04am. Meanwhile, ComfortDelGro fell 1.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.76, making it the top loser.

Among the trio of local banks, UOB was unchanged at S$26.69 on Thursday morning. DBS gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$29.49, while OCBC edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.16.

Over on Wall Street, stocks slipped and the dollar fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signalled a continuation of accommodative monetary policies. The broad-based S&P 500 turned red by the closing bell, ending 0.1 per cent lower at 4,183,29, despite hitting a record intraday high of 4,201.53. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3 per cent to 14,051.03, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.5 per cent to 33,820.38.

European stocks ended flat on Wednesday as optimism over a set of positive bank earnings was offset by caution setting in before the Fed's policy decision. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended largely unchanged.

Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets in Japan are closed on Thursday for a public holiday.