Singapore shares rise at Thursday’s open; STI up 0.6% 

SINGAPORE shares rose at the opening bell on Thursday (Mar 21) morning, following mixed results in global markets.

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 20.29 points or 0.6 per cent to 3,197.77. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 111 to 30 after 49.5 million securities worth S$80.6 million changed hands. 

Marco Polo Marine was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It climbed S$0.002 or 3.4 per cent to S$0.061 after 4.6 million securities were transacted. 

Other counters that were briskly traded included Seatrium, which remained unchanged at S$0.079 after 4.5 million shares changed hands, and Singtel, which gained S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent to S$2.53 after 1.6 million securities were transacted. 

Banking stocks were up in early trade. DBS advanced S$0.28 or 0.8 per cent to S$35.22. OCBC rose S$0.10 or 0.8 per cent to S$13.52, and UOB climbed S$0.10 or 0.4 per cent to S$29.01. 

US indices hit new records on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed plans for interest rate cuts in the coming months, soothing fears of a retreat amid higher than expected inflation data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.3 per cent to 16,369.41, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average secured a gain of 1 per cent to 39,512.13. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.9 per cent to 5,224.62. 

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Over in Europe, shares were little changed on Wednesday due to sell-offs in luxury stocks and cautious sentiments ahead of the Federal Reserve decision after European markets closed. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed largely unchanged at 505.21.