Singapore shares open higher on Monday; STI up 0.35%

SINGAPORE shares started Monday on higher ground after US and Europe markets ended higher on Friday. The Straits Times Index pared some of its losses last week, gaining 11.40 points or 0.35 per cent to 3,237.05 as at 9.06am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 99 to 32, after about 87.2 million securities worth S$75.5 million changed hands.

The most actively traded security was Rex International, up S$0.006 or 3.5 per cent to S$0.18 after 26.8 million shares changed hands. Other actives included Thai Beverage and Golden Agri-Resources.

Ascendas Reit, one of the more active index securities, was up S$0.01 or 0.3 per cent to S$2.95.

Among financials, all three local banks gained ground with DBS advancing S$0.13 or 0.5 per cent to S$25.93, OCBC shares up S$0.06 or 0.6 per cent to S$11.06 and UOB advancing S$0.08 or 0.3 per cent to S$26.38.

Wall Street advanced on Friday after both Washington and Beijing made positive comments on the potential for a trade deal between the world's two biggest economies and upbeat domestic economic data helped to ease investor worries.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 109.33 points or 0.39 per cent to 27,875.62, the S&P 500 gained 6.75 points or 0.22 per cent to 3,110.29, and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.67 points or 0.16 per cent to 8,519.89.

European shares logged their best day in three weeks on Friday as upbeat data out of major eurozone economies helped end a dour week on a positive note.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.4 per cent higher.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.80 per cent or 184.18 points at 23,297.06 in early trade, while its broader Topix index rose 0.64 per cent or 10.84 points to 1,702.18.