Singapore stocks open higher on Thursday; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Thursday (May 18), after Wall Street logged significant gains overnight.    The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent or 11.44 points to 3,185.28 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 98 to 27 as 43.6 million securities worth S$65.3 million changed hands.

Marco Polo Marine was the top-traded counter by volume with 5.4 million shares transacted, gaining 2.1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.048.

Seatrium was also briskly traded, up 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.126.

Index counter Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was actively traded, increasing 1.6 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.27.

The trio of local banks opened mixed on Thursday. DBS was down 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 at S$30.50. UOB gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.15 to S$27.62, while OCBC rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.10 to S$12.23.

US indices ended Wednesday higher due to positive sentiments that the country may reach an agreement to avoid a debt default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.2 per cent higher at 33,420.77. The broad-based S&P 500 also jumped 1.2 per cent to 4,158.77, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3 per cent to 12,500.57.

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In Europe, shares slipped on Wednesday as concerns about whether the US can avoid a debt default weighed on sentiment, along with a slew of downbeat corporate updates. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.2 per cent to 463.98 points, with defensive sectors such as food and beverage, utilities and real estate leading declines.