Singapore shares post steady gains at Thursday’s open; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE shares opened Thursday (Dec 14) on a strong footing after US equities rallied overnight, with the Dow Jones posting a record high on signals of lower borrowing costs in 2024.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 20.64 points or 0.7 per cent to 3,124.90 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 119 to 21 after 73.1 million securities worth S$102.7 million changed hands.

Seatrium was the top advancer in terms of volume, rising S$0.002 or 1.9 per cent to S$0.107 with 22.4 million securities moved.

Units of CapitaLand Ascendas Reit were briskly traded as well, rising S$0.06 or 2.1 per cent to S$2.90 at the open.

Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust climbed US$0.004 or 6 per cent to US$0.071 in early trade amid heavy volumes. This followed news that 11 of its 12 lenders had obtained the necessary approvals in relation to its proposed recapitalisation plan, with its manager also announcing changes to the plan’s terms.

The local banks were mixed at the open, with DBS dipping S$0.05 or 0.2 per cent to S$31.77. UOB jumped S$0.20 or 0.7 per cent to S$27.97, and OCBC inched up S$0.03 or 0.2 per cent to S$12.54.

US indices surged at Wednesday’s close after the Federal Reserve signalled it expects interest rate cuts in 2024.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above 37,000 points for the first time at 37,090.24. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed to 4,707.09, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also ended higher at 14,733.96. Each of the three indices posted an overall gain of 1.4 per cent for the day.

European shares were, however, subdued on Wednesday as investors broadly stayed away from risky bets ahead of the Fed’s interest-rate decision and policy outlook.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched 0.1 per cent lower to 472.46.