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

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Thursday after a mixed close on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.1 per cent or 4.31 points to 3,092.15 as at 9.03am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 94 to 44, with 107.9 million securities worth S$77.3 million changing hands.

One of the most active counters by volume was Shen Yao A78 , with 17.8 million shares worth S$90,000 traded as at 9.03am. Its shares were flat at 0.5 Singapore cent.

Metal Component Engineering 5DX also saw brisk trading, with 2.6 million shares worth S$110,000 changing hands. The counter was up 0.4 cent or 10.8 per cent at 4.1 cents. The company on Thursday said in a press statement it has signed a term sheet to invest seven billion rupiah (S$660,000) in exchange for a 70 per cent stake in Indonesian healthcare company Gaido Digital Medika, as part of its plans to expand its digital healthcare arm regionally.

Among index stocks, Mapletree Logistic Trust M44U was also actively traded in the morning. The real estate investment trust (Reit) saw 2.2 million units worth S$4.5 million changing hands, and rose S$0.03 or 1.5 per cent to S$2.08.

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS D05 rose S$0.03 or 0.1 per cent to S$30.26 and OCBC O39 gained S$0.04 or 0.4 per cent at S$11.65. Meanwhile, UOB U11 fell S$0.07 or 0.3 per cent to S$25.58.

In the US, Wall Street equities ended mixed on Wednesday, with US and global economic data sending differing signals as the surge of Covid-19 infections continues to take a toll on the recovery.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 per cent to close at 35,312.53, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended essentially flat at 4,524.09. But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to finish at an all-time high of 15,309.38.

Meanwhile, European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as fresh signs of weakness in Asian economies were offset by hopes for more stimulus, while investors shook off concerns about rising inflation. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5 per cent to end at 473.12 points, within striking distance of its record high of 476.16 and after seven straight months of gains.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday in cautious trade after a mixed close on Wall Street, with investors looking ahead to US jobs data due this week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.5 per cent or 135.43 points at 28,586.45 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.21 per cent or 4.23 points to 1,985.02.