Singapore stocks open slightly higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Wednesday, tracking a second straight day of gains on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or seven points to 3,116.20 as at 9.02am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 94 to 32, with 37.2 million securities worth S$34.3 million changing hands.

Sembcorp Marine was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 5.56 million shares worth S$1.1 million traded as at 9.01am. Its shares were flat at 18.9 Singapore cents.

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust was also actively traded, with 2.14 million units worth S$3 million changing hands. The counter was up 1.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.40.

ThaiBev also saw heavy trading, with 1.94 million shares worth S$1.3 million changing hands. Its shares were up 0.7 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent to 69 cents.

The trio of local banks were all higher in early trade. As at 9.01am, DBS was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$29.46, UOB gained 0.2 per cent or S$0.04 to S$25.73, while OCBC advanced 0.6 per cent or S$0.07 to S$11.87.

Over on Wall Street, the tech-rich Nasdaq climbed to a fresh record on Tuesday as the market rallied for a second straight session on fading worries about shifting US monetary policy.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8 per cent to 14,253.27, easily topping a record set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 0.2 per cent to 33,945.58, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent to 4,246.44.

European stocks ended higher on Tuesday as mining and energy counters benefited from stable commodity prices. Mining stocks rose 1.3 per cent as base metal prices appeared to have stabilised from a recent plunge.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.3 per cent higher at 456.42 after flitting between gains through the session.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday after the rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.1 per cent or 22.48 points to 28,906.61 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.1 per cent or 2.62 points to 1,956.91.