Singapore stocks rise at Tuesday’s open; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks opened stronger on Tuesday (Nov 15) morning amid a mixed showing in global markets.

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose by 0.3 per cent or 10.19 points to 3,270.99.

Gainers and losers stood even at 60 to 60 after 64.9 million securities worth S$85.3 million changed hands.

Golden Agri-Resources was the top-traded counter by volume, rising 1.8 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.29 with 10.7 million shares transacted. The group on Monday reported a 148 per cent increase in earnings to US$285 million for the third quarter ended Sep 30, from US$115 million a year ago.

Index counters Singtel and Thai Beverage also saw brisk trading activity at the open. Singtel was trading flat with 7.2 million shares traded, while ThaiBev gained 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.62 with 6.2 million shares changing hands.

Meanwhile, ComfortDelGro shed 2.9 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.32, after 5 million shares were traded at the open. The transport operator on Monday posted a profit after tax and minority interests (Patmi) of S$34.3 million for its third quarter ended Sep 30, up 32.9 per cent from S$25.8 million in the year-ago period.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. DBS gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.16 to S$35.02, while OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$12.37. UOB dipped 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 to S$29.94.

In the US, Wall Street stocks ended lower on Monday, stumbling after last week’s rally fueled by hopes the Federal Reserve would ease its interest rate hikes, and as fresh policymaker comments failed to reassure markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.6 per cent to close at 33,536.70. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.9 per cent to 3,957.25, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.1 per cent to 11,196.22.

Meanwhile, European shares closed higher on Monday, driven by positive updates from companies including Germany’s Infineon and Britain’s Informa, while investors positioned themselves for a slew of data including inflation and flash GDP due this week.

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The pan- European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.1 per cent to 432.86, hovering near 11-week highs.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s key Nikkei index opened flat on Tuesday after Wall Street’s retreat.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.01 per cent, or 2.85 points, at 27,960.62 in early trade after drifting between positive and negative territories, while the broader Topix index was up 0.2 per cent, or 4.52 points, at 1,961.42.