Singapore shares open higher on Thursday; STI rises 0.2%
Michelle Zhu
SINGAPORE stocks began trading stronger on Thursday (Aug 31) after global markets ended mixed overnight.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.2 per cent or 5.67 points to 3,225.89. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 62 to 46 after 45.5 million securities worth S$34.7 million changed hands.
Seatrium was the top-traded counter by volume with 14.1 million securities changing hands, although its share price remained unmoved at S$0.144.
Other briskly transacted index counters include Thai Beverage , which fell S$0.01 or 1.7 per cent to S$0.57. CapitaLand Investment gained S$0.04 or 1.3 per cent to S$3.18 at the open.
The trio of local banks were mostly up in early trade, save for UOB , which remained flat at S$28.40. DBS gained S$0.17 or 0.5 per cent to S$33.32, and OCBC climbed S$0.06 or 0.5 per cent to S$12.53.
US indices closed higher on Wednesday, as new data pointing to a cooling US economy reinforced expectations of a pause in Fed rate hikes next month.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent to end at 4,514.87. The tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.6 per cent to close at 14,019.31, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent to 34,890.24.
Meanwhile, European shares fell on Wednesday, while eurozone bond yields rose on bets of a September European Central Bank rate hike.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.2 per cent lower at 459.13, after earlier gaining as much as 0.3 per cent to hit a three-week intraday high.
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