Singapore shares rise at Monday’s open; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE stocks were pulled into positive territory on Monday (Jan 22), after Wall Street equities rallied overnight.  The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 4.93 points to 3,157.22 as at 9.01 am.  Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 99 to 26 after 43.6 million securities worth S$41 million changed hands.

Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. Its share price remained flat at S$0.112 after 20.6 million securities were transacted.

Other companies that were briskly traded included Singtel , which remained unchanged at S$2.40, as well as Matex International , which rose 3.9 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.027.

Banking stocks traded mixed at the open. DBS fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.12 to S$31.93, UOB advanced 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$27.89, and OCBC inched down 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.90.

Stocks on Wall Street rallied at Friday’s close, with the S&P 500 and Dow hitting fresh records. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.2 per cent to close at 4,839.81, surpassing its last all-time high set in 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent to 37,863.8, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.7 per cent to end at 15,310.97.

European shares logged weekly declines on Friday, as investors tempered their expectations around major central banks reducing borrowing costs this year. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.3 per cent lower at 469.24, after rising as much as 0.5 per cent during the day.