Singapore stocks rise at Wednesday's open; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares rose in early trade on Wednesday (Jan 12) after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassured investors that the US central bank will tackle inflation to extend the economic expansion.

The Straits Times Index (STI) moved up 0.4 per cent or 12.26 points to 3,258.63 as at 9.03 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 74 to 44, after 51 million securities worth S$86.7 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was oil exploration and production company Rex International 5WH , which was up 3.1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$0.33, after 5.7 million shares were traded.

Upstream oil and gas company RH Petrogas T13 was also actively traded at the open, up 3.9 per cent or 0.7 cent, at S$0.189, with 3.8 million shares changing hands.

Index counter Mapletree Logistics Trust M44U was among the most actively traded securities on Wednesday morning, with 2.5 million shares traded. The counter rose by S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent to S$1.76.

The trio of local banks all rose at the open.

As at 9.03 am, DBS D05 was up S$0.22 or 0.6 per cent to trade at S$35.64, while UOB U11 was up S$0.18 or 0.6 per cent to trade at S$29.51. OCBC O39 was up S$0.07 or 0.6 per cent to reach S$12.18.

Over on Wall Street, US stocks shook off recent weakness and advanced on Tuesday (Jan 11) after Powell outlined steps to combat inflation in remarks that analysts viewed as not overly hawkish.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 per cent to 36,252.02. The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 0.9 per cent to 4,713.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.4 per cent to 15,153.45.

Meanwhile, European stocks also recovered on Tuesday, led by investors venturing back into tech shares along with upbeat expectations for the fourth-quarter earnings season.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.8 per cent higher at 483.08, with technology stocks being the best performers for the day, adding 1.9 per cent after tumbling nearly 8 per cent over the past 7 sessions.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday after remarks from the US Fed chair fell within expectations, relieving investors who then lifted Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei index rose 0.80 per cent or 224.92 points to 28,447.40, while the broader Topix index added 0.72 per cent or 14.33 points to 2,001.15.