Singapore stocks start Wednesday stronger after Wall Street gains; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks kicked off Wednesday (Oct 26) on a decidedly positive note to mirror robust overnight gains in the US.

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent or 11.61 points to 2,995.76. Gainers outnumbered losers 68 to 29 after 30.2 million securities worth S$41.2 million changed hands.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was the top-traded counter by both volume and value, rising S$0.05 or 2.8 per cent to S$1.87 after 3.2 million of its units worth S$5.9 million were transacted.

Other index stocks such as Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Singtel also saw brisk trading activity at the open. The shipbuilding group gained S$0.05 or 4.2 per cent to S$1.24 after two million of its shares changed hands, following an announcement that it had won an order for two liquefied natural gas carriers from an unnamed European customer.

Meanwhile, telecommunications provider Singtel remained unchanged at S$2.43 as it saw two million shares transacted.

The trio of local banks were mostly up in early trade, led by DBS which gained S$0.12 or 0.4 per cent to S$32.88 at the open. UOB added S$0.05 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.18, while OCBC was unmoved at S$11.70.

Wall Street stocks rallied for a third straight day on Tuesday even after US Treasury yields dropped on disappointing consumer confidence data – the latest to suggest a slowing US economy.

All three major US indices finished solidly higher. The broad-based S&P 500 won 1.6 per cent to 3,859.11, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent to 31,836.74. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite closed 2.3 per cent up at 11,199.12.

Likewise, European stocks ended Tuesday higher after a slew of better-than-expected earnings reports were released.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 1.4 per cent to close at 407.61 or its highest level since Sep 20, with real-estate, technology and financial sectors leading the gains.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened Wednesday stronger as investors took heart from Wall Street rallies.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.8 per cent or 203.39 points at 27,453.67 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.7 per cent or 12.55 points at 1,919.69.