Singapore shares open higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE shares started trading in positive territory on Wednesday (Jun 28), tracking gains in the US and Europe markets.

The Straits Times Index (STI) was up by 15.41 points or 0.5 per cent at 3,220.76 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 82 to 32 as 51.3 million securities worth S$51 million changed hands.

Index counter Seatrium was the most actively traded by volume, falling 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.125 after 27.9 million of its shares were transacted.

Singtel was also briskly traded, gaining 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.55 at the open. Meanwhile, Thomson Medical was down 1.7 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.059.

The trio of local banks opened higher. DBS was up 0.7 per cent or S$0.21 to S$31.50, UOB gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.17 to S$27.89, and OCBC increased 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$12.31.

Wall Street stocks bounced on Tuesday, shaking off weakness in the prior session after solid US data reassured investors on the economic outlook.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6 per cent at 33,926.74. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent to 4,378.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.7 per cent to 13,555.67.

Over in Europe, shares were up on Tuesday supported by financials and luxury stocks as investors bet on further policy stimulus from China, while hawkish comments from European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde limited gains.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1 per cent higher at 452.9, snapping its six-day losing streak.