Singapore shares rise at Thursday’s open; STI up 0.5% 

SINGAPORE stocks inched up at the opening bell on Thursday (Apr 4), following mixed overnight results in US and European markets. 

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 15.47 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,238.13. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 79 to 32 after 35.6 million securities worth S$52.2 million changed hands. 

Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. The counter was up S$0.001 or 1.2 per cent at S$0.086 after 8.9 million securities were transacted. 

Other counters that were briskly traded included Marco Polo Marine, which remained unchanged at S$0.066 with 3.2 million shares exchanged, and ComfortDelGro, which traded flat at S$1.46 with 1.5 million securities changing hands. 

Banking stocks were up in early trade. DBS climbed S$0.18 or 0.5 per cent to S$36.27. OCBC advanced S$0.17 or 1.3 per cent to S$13.77, and UOB rose S$0.01 or 0.03 per cent to S$29.54. 

Over on Wall Street, US stocks closed mixed after a ruffled session on Wednesday, following softer-than-expected economic data for the services sector. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned that lowering interest rates hastily could be disruptive, despite maintaining the possibility of cuts later this year.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 0.2 per cent to 16,277.46, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.1 per cent to 5,211.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1 per cent to 39,127.14.

In Europe, shares climbed on Wednesday, recovering from a two-week intraday low. The pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.3 per cent to 510.02.