Singapore shares rise at Friday’s open; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares were pulled into positive territory on Friday (Dec 9) morning, mirroring Wall Street stocks’ overnight advances.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or 9.93 points to 3,246.01 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 91 to 32 after 56.9 million shares worth S$54 million changed hands.

Sembcorp Marine : S51 0% was the top traded counter by volume with 19.3 million shares traded, gaining 2.8 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.146. Real estate company Pollux Properties : 5AE 0% was the runner-up by volume, with 2.8 million shares traded, gaining 6.5 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.049 as at 9.02 am.

Among index counters, Thai Beverage : Y92 0% posted a 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 rise to S$0.66, with two million shares changing hands.

The trio of local lenders opened on mostly positive notes. DBS : D05 0% rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$33.42, UOB : U11 0% gained 1 per cent or S$0.30 to S$31.03, while OCBC : O39 0% remained flat at S$12.25 as at 9.02 am. 

Wall Street stocks shrugged off recent weakness and pushed higher on Thursday as tech shares rallied and the S&P 500 snapped a five-day losing streak, amid recession worries and fears that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its aggressive posture to counter surging inflation.

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The S&P 500 finished up 0.8 per cent at 3,963.51, its first positive session since Nov 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 per cent to 33,781.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.1 per cent to 11,082.

In contrast, shares in Europe fell for the fifth straight session on Thursday, bogged down by weakness in banks and consumer staples amid similar fears of an impending recession.

The region-wide Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 per cent, with investors jittery ahead of a slew of interest rate decisions from major central banks, including from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank next week.