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

SINGAPORE shares rose in early trade on Tuesday (Nov 9), following gains on Wall Street after a massive US$1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was passed by Congress.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 4.2 points to 3,268.10 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 89 to 39, after 170.1 million securities worth S$147.1 million changed hands.

Units of Prime US Reit were among the most actively traded securities on Tuesday morning, with 75.3 million changing hands as at 9.02 am. The counter fell 5.7 per cent or S$0.05 to S$0.83. This is despite the manager of the real estate investment trust last Friday (Nov 5) saying its leasing activity more than trebled in the third quarter ended September, compared to the preceding quarter.

Among index stocks, Genting Singapore was the top gainer on Tuesday morning, rising 1.9 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.825 as at 9.02 am. In line with the upbeat sentiment towards travel counters, SIA also rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.04 to S$5.51.

HGH was the second most actively traded counter in terms of volume. Its shares jumped 20 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.018 as at 9.02 am.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. DBS was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 at S$32.66, UOB rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.07 to S$28.03, but OCBC slipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$11.99 as at 9.02 am.

In the US, major Wall Street indices closed at new all-time highs for the second consecutive session on Monday (Nov 8), buoyed by the passing of the infrastructure bill and robust employment data.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 36,432.22, the broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 4,701.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 per cent to 15,982.36.

In Europe, strength in commodity-linked sectors helped stocks end at a record high close on Monday, although broader gains were stifled by some weak earnings and a lack of major market cues.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed marginally higher at 483.61, with basic resources and energy stocks leading the gains.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday following gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2 per cent or 45.77 points at 29,552.82 in early trade, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.2 per cent or 4.76 points to 2,039.98.