Singapore stocks open higher on Tuesday amid global tech rally; STI up 0.4%

RIDING on a global tech rally, Singapore shares opened higher on Tuesday (Apr 5).

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent or 13.77 points to 3,430.74 as at 9.01 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 117 to 22, after some 86.6 million securities worth S$79.7 million changed hands.

As seen in recent trading sessions, S51 continues to be one of the most actively traded counter. Over 13.9 million securities of the oil and gas company were transacted, with its share price rising 1 per cent, or S$0.001 at S$0.101.

Film company 1B0 was also heavily traded, with 6.2 million securities changing hands. Its share price climbed 1.5 per cent, or S$0.001 at S$0.07 .

Chemical manufacturer C8R also saw brisk trading. Close to 5.4 million of its securities were transacted, while its share price went higher by 2.2 per cent, or S$0.002 at S$0.092.

Index counter Z74 was also active, with about 4 million securities being traded in early Tuesday. Its share price was up 1.1 per cent, S$0.03 at S$2.67.

The shares of all 3 local banks were in the black as well. D05 rose 0.3 per cent, or S$0.12 to S$35.65.

U11 share price increased 0.3 per cent, or S$0.09 at S$31.85, while O39 shares gained 0.2 per cent, or S$0.03 at S$12.37.

Over in the United States, Wall Street's main indices rose on Monday, boosted by megacap tech and growth stocks amid cautionary signals in the bond market and talk of more sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

Shares of Twitter surged 27.1 per cent after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk revealed a 9.2 per cent stake in the micro-blogging site, which helped lift the shares of other social media companies as well.

Gains were relatively concentrated as the financial sector fell, as did defensive groups such as utilities and healthcare.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 103.61 points or 0.3 per cent to 34,921.88, the S&P 500 gained 36.78 points or 0.8 per cent at 4,582.64 and the Nasdaq Composite added 271.05 points or 1.9 per cent at 14,532.55.

European shares also gained on Monday, again led by tech stocks, which rallied more than 2 per cent.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index firmed 0.8 per cent, with tech stocks jumping 2.1 per cent, tracking gains in Wall Street's Nasdaq after Musk's revelation that he is now the largest shareholder of Twitter.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened higher on Tuesday following gains on Wall Street led by tech giants, though investors remained cautious over uncertainties linked to Ukraine.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.8 per cent or 229.47 points to 27,965.94 at the open, while the broader Topix index rose 0.7 per cent or 13.91 points to 1,967.54.