Singapore stocks start the new year slightly positive; STI up 0.1% at open

SINGAPORE shares started the year slightly higher on Monday after the Ministry of Trade and Industry said economic contraction slowed in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with the previous quarter.

Full-year contraction came in at 5.8 per cent, according to advance estimates released on Monday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.1 per cent or 3.09 points to 2,846.90 as at 9.03am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 102 to 59, after 54.5 million securities worth S$41 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Broadway Industrial, which fell 2.4 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 16.4 cents, with four million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities include Credit Bureau Asia, which rose 3.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.35 with 2.3 million shares traded, and Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which advanced 1 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent to 20 cents, with two million shares changing hands.

Sunpower Group was up 4.4 per cent or 3.5 Singapore cents to 83.5 cents, with 1.8 million shares traded. The group on Thursday said it would fully sell its manufacturing and services business in a management buyout for 2.3 billion yuan (S$463.3 million).

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.07 to S$25.11, UOB was flat at S$22.59, while OCBC edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$10.07.

Other active index counters include Singtel, which held steady at S$2.31, and Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, which gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.99.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks began the new year on a strong footing on Monday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 per cent to 27,589.62 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.2 per cent at 1,807.36.