Singapore stocks rise at Wednesday's open; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Wednesday (Oct 27), amid stronger performance in overseas markets and a slew of positive business updates from real estate investment trusts.

On the Singapore bourse, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 4.85 points to 3,209.42 as at 9.05 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 99 to 50, or about 2 securities up for every 1 down, after 125.8 million securities worth S$75.8 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Koh Brothers Eco Engineering 5HV, which gained 28.1 per cent or S$0.016 to S$0.073, with 28.3 million shares changing hands. On Tuesday (Oct 26), the sustainable-engineering solutions provider said it secured a S$200.7 million contract from Singapore's Public Utilities Board.

Other heavily traded securities included Hatten Land PH0, which was flat at S$0.063 with 6.7 million shares traded, as well as Thai Beverage Y92 , which increased 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.72, with 5 million shares traded.

Banking stocks rose were mixed in early morning trade. DBS D05 was trading up 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$31.64, UOB U11 advanced 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$26.82, while OCBC O39 declined 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.95.

Other active index counters included Singtel Z74, which was down 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.53, as well as ComfortDelGro C52 , which lost 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.58.

In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 finished at records on Tuesday following another round of mostly good earnings and strong consumer confidence and housing data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1 per cent higher at 35,756.88, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,574.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1 per cent to 15,235.71.

European stocks also rose on Tuesday as mostly strong earnings offset lingering worries about inflation and supply chain woes. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.8 per cent to 475.74 points, its highest closing level since a record-high finish of 475.83 in August.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday on profit-taking after sharp rallies in the previous session. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2 per cent to 29,058.31 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,017.32.