Singapore stocks open higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Wednesday despite a negative lead on Wall Street, as investors bet on a swift global economic recovery.

The Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.1 per cent or 4.22 points to 3,211.85 as at 9.01am. Gainers outnumbered losers 80 to 38, after 36.5 million securities worth S$68.6 million changed hands as at 9.02am.

Pharmaceutical company iX Biopharma was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 24 million shares traded as at 9.02am. The stock rose 17.8 per cent or four Singapore cents to 26.5 cents.

Among index counters, CapitaLand was the top gainer, rising 0.8 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.79 as at 9.05am. Jardine C&C was the top loser as it slipped 0.8 per cent or S$0.19 to S$23.41.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. DBS dipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$29.26, UOB advanced 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$26.22, while OCBC put on 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.90 as at 9.05am.

Over on Wall Street, markets closed modestly lower on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the International Monetary Fund lifted its global growth forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 per cent to end the day at 33,430.24, the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to 4,073.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1 per cent to 13,698.38.

European shares closed at a record high on Tuesday, recovering all of their pandemic-driven losses as investors bet on a speedy global economic recovery. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.7 per cent to 435.26 points. It has climbed more than 60 per cent from last year's lows and surpassed its previous all-time high of 433.90 points in February 2020.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday despite Wall Street closing in the red. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2 per cent or 66.10 points at 29,762.73 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.4 per cent or 8.00 points to 1,962.34.