Singapore shares open higher on Monday; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares opened on a positive note on Monday (Oct 2) after global equities ended the week mixed.

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 9.13 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,226.54. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 66 to 43 after 50.4 million securities worth S$40.8 million changed hands.

Seatrium was the top-traded counter by volume at the open, rising S$0.001 or 0.8 per cent to S$0.135 with 11.5 million shares changing hands.

This was followed by Medtecs International , with the protective gear manufacturer booking a S$0.009 or 6.6 per cent gain to trade at S$0.145.

Index counter Singtel was actively traded as well, rising S$0.03 or 1.2 per cent to S$2.45 after the telecommunications provider announced the sale of its entire interest in its cybersecurity unit, Trustwave.

The banks were trading mixed on Monday morning, with DBS up S$0.27 or 0.8 per cent to S$33.91. UOB inched down S$0.01 or 0.04 per cent to S$28.49, while OCBC was flat at S$12.81.

Wall Street equities finished mixed on Friday, reversing earlier gains to close out a gloomy month of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.5 per cent at 33,507.50, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended the day down 0.3 per cent at 4,288.13. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index etched out a small gain, climbing 0.1 per cent to 13,219.32.

Over in Europe, shares ended Friday higher after a drop in eurozone inflation in September cemented hopes the European Central Bank will pause its interest-rate hikes.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.4 per cent to 450.22, though logging its worst quarter in the year as it marked a 2.5 per cent decline over the latest three-month period.