Singapore stocks: STI resumes Monday afternoon at 3,101.68, up 0.76% on day

SINGAPORE stocks built on their morning gains as trading resumed on Monday afternoon, with the Straits Times Index advancing 0.76 per cent or 23.32 points on the day to 3,101.68 as at 1.02pm.

Gainers outnumbered losers 149 to 117, after 246 million securities worth S$286.1 million changed hands.

Golden Agri-Resources was the most heavily traded security, down S$0.005 or 2.3 per cent to S$0.215 after 19.3 million shares were traded.

Freshly listed Lendlease Reit was up S$0.01 or 1.1 per cent to S$0.945 after 15.2 million units changed hands.

Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust was also heavily traded, down S$0.003 or 2.3 per cent to S$1.28.

The three local banks were all in the green, with DBS up S$0.24 or 1 per cent to S$24.79, UOB up S$0.32 or 1.3 per cent to S$25.49, and OCBC gaining S$0.08 or 0.8 per cent to S$10.70.

Other Asian markets also edged higher on Monday after data showed the US unemployment rate had dropped to the lowest in almost 50 years, easing concerns of a slowdown in the world's largest economy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.18 per cent. Australian shares were up 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei stock index opened higher but reversed course and fell 0.3 per cent.

Hong Kong's stock market is closed on Monday for a public holiday, with trade resuming on Tuesday.