Singapore shares edge up at Tuesday's open; STI up 0.06% to 3,349.81

SINGAPORE stocks opened stronger on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index rising 0.06 per cent or 1.86 points to 3,349.81 as at 9.01am ahead of stronger openings in the US and Europe markets.

On the Singapore bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 71 to 23, or about three securities up for every one down, after 28.4 million securities worth S$33.5 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Anchor Resources headed up 7.1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.015 with 2.3 million shares traded. Amplefield headed up 14.3 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.032 with 1.7 million shares traded. Singapore Press Holdings shed 0.9 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.30 with 1.7 million shares traded.

Financials were mixed, with DBS Group Holdings down 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$25.87; United Overseas Bank, up 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$26.61; and OCBC Bank, flat at S$11.52.

Other active index stocks included Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, down 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.93; Singtel, up 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.51.

Wall Street shares edged up on lowered expectations amid a flux of earnings reports. In the US stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.1 per cent higher at 27,359.16, while the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 per cent at 3,014.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index meanwhile, grew 0.2 per cent to 8,258.19.

Major banks recorded weaker performance as yield on the 10-year US Treasury note retreated.

Meanwhile in Europe, stocks closed higher on Monday, with Germany's DAX ending 0.52 per cent higher, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose about 0.4 per cent. Banks meanwhile, ended flat as Italian banks dragged.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened weaker on Tuesday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipping 0.18 per cent or 38.12 points at 21,647.78 in early trade, while the Topix index dropped 0.18 per cent or 2.76 points at 1,573.55.

IG market strategist Pan Jingyi told The Business Times that the "lack of impetus" for Asia markets have kept prices trading in a lacklustre fashion on Tuesday morning. A quiet session is seen for Asia, short for the RBA minutes release.

Meanwhile, the US session will see attention on US June retail sales and industrial production to assess how the data had fared against China's improvement, she added.