Singapore shares open higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE shares started Wednesday (Nov 29) morning on a strong footing after global markets ended mixed overnight.

The Straits Times Index (STI) was 14.52 points or 0.5 per cent higher at 3,080.46 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 67 to 23 after 25.4 million securities worth S$32.7 million changed hands.

Seatrium was the top-traded counter in terms of volume with 10.7 million of its shares changing hands, though it remained flat at S$0.107.

Units of CapitaLand Ascendas Reit gained S$0.02 or 0.7 per cent to S$2.81.

Shares of watch-listed investment and management company SMI Vantage were also briskly traded, rising S$0.003 or 6.1 per cent to S$0.052 at the open.

The trio of local banks booked gains in early trade, with DBS advancing S$0.16 or 0.5 per cent to S$31.79. UOB climbed S$0.08 or 0.3 per cent to S$27.28, and OCBC added S$0.06 or 0.5 per cent to reach S$12.68.

Wall Street stocks ended Tuesday modestly higher, following solid consumer data as well as fairly dovish Federal Reserve comments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2 per cent up at 35,416.98. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.1 per cent to 4,554.89, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3 per cent to 14,281.76.

In Europe, shares fell for a second session on Tuesday to stall the month’s rally, as comments by European Central Bank policymakers dampened expectations of interest rate cuts next year.

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