Singapore shares muted at Thursday’s open; STI up 0.03%

SINGAPORE shares entered Thursday’s (Mar 28) morning session barely moved, as gains from travel and hospitality-related index counters clashed with a weaker showing from banks.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.03 per cent or 0.98 point to 3,252.69 as at 9.02 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 72 to 38, after 35 million securities worth S$63.3 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Singtel : Z74 0%, which lost 0.4 per cent, or S$0.01 to S$2.53 with 4.6 million shares traded.

Other heavily traded securities included Genting Singapore : G13 0%, which added 1.7 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.905 with 4.5 million shares traded, and Mapletree Logistics Trust : M44U 0%, which held steady at S$1.46 with 1.8 million units changing hands.

Banking stocks declined in early morning trade. DBS : D05 0% was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.15 at S$36.48, UOB : U11 0% slipped 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$29.60, and OCBC : O39 0% traded 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 lower at S$13.71.

Other active index counters included Singapore Airlines : C6L 0%, which gained 0.9 per cent or S$0.06 to S$6.47, and Sats : S58 0%, which climbed 1.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.56.

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Wall Street stocks rebounded on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 finishing at a record high.

The broad-based S&P 500 closed at 5,248.49, up 0.9 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.2 per cent higher at 39,760.08. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5 per cent to 16,399.52.

European shares also inched up to a fresh record on Wednesday, supported by gains in defensive sectors. Fashion retailer H&M’s shares also saw their strongest day in nearly nine months on optimistic quarterly results.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.1 per cent.