Singapore shares rise at Thursday’s open amid global rally; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks advanced on Thursday (Dec 22), tracking rallies in Wall Street and Europe as investors take heart from confident consumer data.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.3 per cent or 8.9 points to 3,265.09 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 95 to 23, or about four securities up for every one down, after 50 million securities worth S$53.5 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine , which rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.14, with 8.2 million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included Keppel Infrastructure Trust , which held steady at S$0.54 with 3.4 million shares traded; and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust , which gained 1.5 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.04.

Banking stocks were mixed in early morning trade, with DBS and UOB dropping 0.3 per cent each. DBS slid S$0.10 to S$34.11, and UOB lost S$0.08 to S$30.92. Meanwhile, OCBC advanced 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$12.29.

Other active index counters included Singtel , which was up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.57, as well as Keppel Corporation , which rose 1.2 per cent or S$0.09 to S$7.38.

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Wall Street stocks jumped on Wednesday after a strong consumer confidence report surprised investors. Sports giant Nike also beat quarterly revenue and profit expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.6 per cent higher at 33,376.48, the S&P 500 gained 1.5 per cent to 3,878.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index closed 1.5 per cent higher at 10,709.37.

European shares also rose on Wednesday, buoyed by extended gains from banks and optimism surrounding retail stocks. The Stoxx 600 index closed 1.7 per cent higher, with Adidas and Puma leading gains.