Singapore shares open higher on Monday; STI up 0.2%
Daphne Yow
SINGAPORE shares started the week higher on Monday (Jun 26), in contrast with global markets, which closed lower amid concerns that interest rate hikes will continue.
The Straits Times Index (STI) was up 5.94 points or 0.2 per cent at 3,197.54 as at 9.02 am. Across the broader market, advancers marginally outnumbered decliners 57 to 52 as 42.6 million securities worth S$37.4 million changed hands.
Index counter Seatrium was the most actively traded by volume, remaining flat at S$0.125 after 12.3 million of its securities were transacted.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was also briskly traded, rising 3.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.32 at the open. The company announced on Sunday that it obtained a contract from repeat customer Klaveness Combination Carriers to build three 83,300 dwt vessels for delivery in 2026.
Beng Kuang gained 13.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.083. The maritime company on Friday proposed to sell 31 per cent of its Batam shipyard property to Bukit Batu Mulia for S$9.9 million.
The trio of local banks traded higher on Monday morning. DBS rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$31.52, UOB gained 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$28, and OCBC advanced 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.33.
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US stocks closed lower on Friday, capping a week dominated by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony, in which he signalled more interest rate hikes ahead but vowed the central bank would proceed with caution.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 per cent to 33,727.43, the S&P 500 lost 0.8 per cent to 4,348.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1 per cent to 13,492.52.
Over in Europe, shares dipped on Friday at the end of a central bank policy-packed week that reinforced views that interest rates could stay higher for longer, while shares of Siemens Energy plunged as it withdrew its annual profit outlook.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3 per cent lower at 453.14 after data showed eurozone business growth stalled this month as the downturn in manufacturing deepened.
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