Singapore shares open 27.5 points higher on Monday

THE Singapore benchmark Straits Times Index opened 27.51 points higher or 0.9 per cent at 3,095.97 on Monday morning, extending its gains from Friday following China's lowering of lending rate and big banks' reserve requirement ratio.

At 9.02am, some 97.8 million shares worth S$83 million changed hands, with gainers outpacing losers at 118 to 26.

Among the most active stocks in morning trading were Noble Group, which rose 3.7 per cent to 56 cents; Debao Property, which jumped 9.1 per cent to six cents; and YuuZoo, which gained 2.6 per cent to 19.7 cents.

Investors will be looking keenly to two key developments in China and the US this week. The Chinese Communist Party's central committee is holding a meeting from Monday to Thursday to set out a five-year plan while the Federal Reserve is holding a policy meeting.

Though the Fed is not expected to raise interest rates at this week's meeting, investors will be looking for clues on the Fed's take on the global economy and whether it will raise rates at its December meeting.