Singapore stocks open higher on Tuesday; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday (Mar 15), as the Straits Times Index (STI) went up 0.2 per cent or 6.62 points at 3,238.65 as at 9.01 am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 56 to 52, as some 54.2 million securities worth S$45.2 million changed hands.

Oil and gas companies were the most actively traded counters on Tuesday morning.

Close to 11.9 million of Sembcorp Marine S51 shares were transacted, and its share price increased 2.3 per cent or S$0.002 at S$0.088.

Another heavily traded counter was RH Petrogas T13 as over 7.2 million of its securities changed hands. However, its share price dropped 3.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$0.275.

Rex International 5WH continued its active trading from Monday, with about 6.5 million shares transacted after Tuesday's open. Its share price rose 1.4 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.355.

Among index counters, close to 1.2 million shares of Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) Z74 changed hands, with its price up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.56.

The share prices of all 3 local banks also opened higher on Tuesday. DBS D05went up 0.9 per cent or S$0.30 to S$33.46, while UOBU11 rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 at S$30.28. OCBC's O39 share price grew 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 at S$11.73.

Over on Wall Street, major indices posted modest losses at the end of a choppy session on Monday as talks to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices lower.

Investors also are bracing for the United States Federal Reserve policy announcement on Wednesday which will see interest rates rise for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began to contain inflation that has been picking up speed.

Major indices gained ground early in the day but retreated later, and the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat at 32,945.24.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.7 per cent to close at 4,173.11, while tech shares were mostly in the red, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index down 2.0 per cent to 12,581.22.

In contrast, European stocks rose on Monday, clinging to hopes of diplomatic efforts by Ukraine and Russia to end weeks-long conflict.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 1.2 per cent higher, extending gains from Friday when Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled a positive shift in talks with Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine gave their most upbeat assessments following weekend negotiations, even as Russia attacked a base near the Polish border and fighting raged elsewhere.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's blue-chip shares opened lower on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index eased 0.3 per cent, or 81.85 points, to 25,226.00, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.2 per cent, or 3.82 points, to 1,816.10.