Singapore stocks open higher on Friday; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares rose on Friday (Apr 14) following the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s announcement on leaving monetary policy settings unchanged for the first time in over a year, contrary to market expectations of a tightening.

This also comes after the Ministry of Trade and Industry released advanced estimates showing that Singapore’s economy grew 0.1 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, lower than the 2.1 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.4 per cent or 14.62 points to 3,309.16. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 71 to 21, after 25.4 million securities worth S$28.1 million changed hands.

Sembcorp Marine was the most active counter by volume, with 30.5 million shares traded. The counter rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.12.

Another heavily-traded counter was AsiaPhos , which climbed 66.7 per cent, or S$0.006 to S$0.015.

Active index counters included Singtel , which rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.52, and Thai Beverage , which rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.64.

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Banking stocks rose in early morning trade. DBS was trading 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 higher at S$32.70, and UOB gained 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$30.06. OCBC was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$12.82.

In the US, all three major stock indices advanced on Thursday after new data showed that inflation is on a slowing trend. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led with a 2 per cent rise to 12,166.27. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.3 per cent higher to 4,146.22, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.1 per cent higher at 34,029.69.

European shares also rose on Thursday on a boost from luxury stocks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.4 per cent at 464.21 after LVMH posted upbeat first-quarter sales.