Singapore stocks open higher on Friday; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks rose in early trade on Friday (Jan 13), following overnight gains in the US and Europe markets.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.7 per cent or 21.47 points to 3,289.25 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 91 to 28 after 39.5 million securities worth S$70.8 million changed hands.

Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter on Friday morning with 5.5 million shares changing hands. The counter rose 1 per cent or $0.01 to S$1.01.

Another index counter Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was also among the top five most traded counters. It rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.26 with 3.1 million shares changing hands.

Lendlease Reit rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.68, with 779,300 units being traded.

The trio of local banks saw gains overnight. UOB rose 1.9 per cent or S$0.56 to S$30.48 and DBS rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.27 to S$34.77. At the same time, OCBC also rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.06 to S$12.62.

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Wall Street stocks ended higher once again on Thursday after evidence of moderation in inflation in US data, as markets looked forward to earnings reports from large banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6 per cent at 34,189.97, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 3,983.17. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.6 per cent to 11,001.10. Similarly, European shares gained on Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 rising 0.6 per cent. It closed out at its highest level since late April.