Singapore shares rise at Wednesday’s open; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks started Wednesday (Aug 30) on a positive note following overnight gains in the US and Europe markets.

On the local bourse, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.4 per cent or 13.43 points to 3,236.52 as at 9.02 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 93 to 33, or about three securities up for every one down, after 60.3 million securities worth S$42.6 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Seatrium , which held steady at S$0.145 with 20.6 million shares traded.

Other heavily traded securities included Singtel , which was up 1.7 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.40, with 3.6 million shares traded, as well as Genting Singapore , which remained unchanged at S$0.89 with 1.6 million shares traded.

Banking stocks rose in early morning trade. DBS was trading up 0.2 per cent or S$0.08 at S$33.44, UOB gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$28.61, and OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$12.59.

In the US, stocks rallied on Tuesday following a surprise decline in the number of job openings, giving way to optimism that the Federal Reserve would soften its interest-rate policy.

SEE ALSO

Stocks to watch: Sembcorp, IHH Healthcare, GuocoLand, Frasers Centrepoint Trust

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.9 per cent higher at 34,852.67, and the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.5 per cent to 4,497.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.7 per cent to close at 13,943.76.

In Europe, shares hit a two-week high at Tuesday’s close, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 finishing 1 per cent higher in broad-based gains.