Singapore stocks rise at Monday’s open, STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares started the week higher on Monday (May 30), tracking last week’s gains on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 7.26 points to 3,237.81 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 101 to 31, after 95.2 million securities worth S$63.7 million changed hands.

The most actively traded counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine , which saw 17.6 million of its shares worth S$2 million traded at 9.03 am. Its shares were up S$0.001 or 0.9 per cent at S$0.114.

Among index stocks, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was actively traded, with 3.8 million shares worth S$3.5 million changing hands. Its shares were up S$0.01 or 1.1 per cent at S$0.93.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust also saw brisk trading, with 1.6 million shares worth S$3.6 million changing hands. The counter was up S$0.02 or 0.9 per cent at S$2.24.

The trio of local banks were up in early trade. DBS rose S$0.17 or 0.6 per cent to S$31.27, UOB was up S$0.04 or 0.1 per cent at S$29.42, while OCBC gained S$0.06 or 0.5 per cent to S$11.76.

In the US, Wall Street stocks rallied Friday following signs of moderating inflation, finishing with weekly gains for the first time in about 2 months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.8 per cent, or about 575 points, to 33,212.96, a weekly increase of 6.2 per cent, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.5 per cent to 4,158.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.3 per cent to 12,131.13.

Meanwhile, European shares marked their best week since mid-March, ending Friday on a strong note as upbeat US data and easing bets about aggressive interest rate hikes lifted sentiment.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose for a third straight session, closing up 1.5 per cent, taking weekly gains to 3 per cent. Germany’s DAX ended at an over 1-month high, up 1.6 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday, extending gains on Wall Street, with investors shifting their focus to global economic indicators due this week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.2 per cent, or 323.48 points, at 27,105.16 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 1 per cent, or 19.03 points, at 1,906.33.