Singapore stocks open slightly higher on Friday; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Friday, after recent meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee bolstered expectations the US central bank will maintain its dovish monetary stance.

The Straits Times Index (STI) inched up marginally by 0.03 per cent or 0.84 point to 3,187.24 as at 9.02am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 97 to 33, after 99 million securities worth S$63.1 million changed hands.

BlackGold Natural was the most actively traded counter on Friday shortly after market open, with 22.4 million shares changing hands as at 9.01am. The counter soared 31.3 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent to 2.1 cents.

Mercurius also saw heavy trading on Friday, with 14.5 million shares worth S$1 million changing hands in early trade. The counter rose 7.7 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent to seven cents.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. As at 9.01am, DBS slipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$28.66, UOB advanced 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$26.06, while OCBC gained 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.83.

Over on Wall Street, stocks rose on Thursday with the broad-based S&P 500 finishing at a second straight record, climbing 0.4 per cent to 4,097.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent to 33,503.57, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index put on 1 per cent to 13,829.31.

European shares hit record highs on Thursday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 rising 0.6 per cent, amid rising optimism over a global stimulus-fuelled economic recovery after the Federal Reserve signalled it is in no hurry to tighten monetary policy.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.5 per cent or 151.79 points to 29,860.77, while the broader Topix index rose 0.4 per cent or 8.64 points to 1,960.50.