Singapore stocks rise at Friday's open; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares rose in early trade on Friday (Dec 24), following extended rallies on Wall Street over optimism on the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The Straits Times Index (STI) moved up 0.1 per cent or 3.86 points to 3,100.67 as at 9.01 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 68 to 24, after 25.4 million securities worth S$19 million changed hands.

QT Vascular 5I0 was the most traded in terms of volume as at 9.03 am, gaining S$0.001 or 33.3 per cent to S$0.004 after 3.9 million shares were traded. This comes after the medtech company said on Wednesday (Dec 22) that its requisitioning shareholders have dropped the attempt to call for a third extraordinary general meeting to appoint new directors - the latest development in an ongoing boardroom tussle.

Digital security firm DiSa 532 was also actively traded at the open, unchanged at S$0.005, with 3.5 million shares changing hands.

Index counter Thai Beverage Y92 was among the most actively traded securities, flat at S$0.66 after 1.8 million shares were traded.

The trio of local banks rose in early trade. DBS D05 inched S$0.01 or 0.03 per cent higher to S$32.51, UOB U11 advanced S$0.06 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.79, while OCBC O39 gained S$0.03 or 0.3 per cent to S$11.34 as at 9.04 am.

Over on Wall Street, the S&P 500 concluded a strong holiday-shortened week by setting a record on Thursday (Dec 23), extending a rally amid optimism that the Omicron Covid-19 variant will not significantly weigh on growth.

The broad-based S&P 500 index piled on 0.6 per cent to finish at 4,725.79, overtaking a previous record set earlier this month and ending with a 2.3 per cent gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to close at 35,950.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 15,653.37.

Meanwhile, European shares hit a 1-month high on Thursday, as signs that the impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant may be less severe than feared led to improved risk appetite.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 1 per cent to close at 483.01, marking the third straight session of gains.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, extending US rallies.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2 per cent or 59.63 points at 28,858.00 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.3 per cent or 5.59 points to 1,995.02.