Singapore shares open stronger on Wednesday as banks rebound; STI up 1.3%

SINGAPORE shares began Wednesday (Mar 15) on a healthy footing, as banking stocks swung back into the black from the previous day’s declines.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 40.24 points or 1.3 per cent to 3,169.99 as at 9.01 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 101 to 23, with 54.4 million securities worth S$70.9 million changing hands.

Index counter Thai Beverage was the most actively traded counter by volume, rising S$0.015 or 2.4 per cent to S$0.635 with some 9.6 million shares moved.

Singtel rose S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent to S$2.40, amid active trading. 

Shares of Sembcorp Marine were also briskly traded, climbing S$0.001 or 1 per cent to S$0.106 on high volumes.

The trio of local banks posted hefty share price gains in early trade. DBS gained S$0.54 or 1.7 per cent to S$32.87, while UOB was up S$0.42 or 1.5 per cent at S$28.26. OCBC rose S$0.17 or 1.4 per cent to S$12.24.

SEE ALSO

Reits notch healthy gains even as STI falls 0.1% amid regional decline

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

The lenders’ positive share price movements came after Singapore’s central bank on Monday said the nation’s banking system remains “sound and resilient”, amid the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

Wall Street equities also posted a strong recovery on Tuesday, as big jumps by First Republic Bank and other regional banks lent support to major US indices. The S&P 500 piled on 1.7 per cent to 3,919.29, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.1 per cent higher at 32,155.4. The tech-rich Nasdaq gained 2.1 per cent to 11,428.15.

In Europe, stocks logged their strongest single-day gain in nearly three months, helped by a resilient outlook for the region’s banking sector in the face of SVB’s implosion, as well as growing optimism over a slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 1.5 per cent higher at 449.56 amid a broad-based rally, rebounding from its worst three-day sell-off of 3.9 per cent this year.