Singapore stocks open higher on Friday; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Friday (Jun 16), following strong overnight gains on Wall Street. 

The Straits Times Index (STI) notched up 0.3 per cent or 9.33 points to 3,252.18 at 9.01am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 85 to 35, with 54.9 million securities worth S$59.8 million traded.

Seatrium was the top-traded counter by volume at the open, with 17.5 million shares changing hands; its share price remained flat at S$0.128. 

Marco Polo Marine also traded briskly; its share price rose 1.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.057 after three million shares changed hands. Catalist-listed Nippecraft Limited posted a gain of 4.2 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.074. 

The trio of local banks were all trading in positive territory on Friday morning. DBS was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.16 to S$31.16. UOB registered a 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 increase to S$27.95, and OCBC rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$12.51.

US indices ended Thursday higher, reflecting better sentiment on the US economy and a consensus view that the interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will end soon.

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The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.2 per cent or 53.25 points to 4,425.84, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.2 per cent or 156.34 points to 13,782.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 1.3 per cent or 428.73 points to 34,408.06.

On the other hand, the European Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.1 per cent to 464.33 points, after the European Central Bank raised borrowing costs and signalled that more policy tightening is expected amid high inflation.