Singapore shares open higher on Thursday after signing of US-China trade deal; STI up 0.14%

SINGAPORE shares rose at the opening bell on Thursday following the signing of the long-awaited US-China "phase one" trade agreement. Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 4.55 points or 0.14 per cent to 3,261.53 as at 9.05am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 82 to 44, after 100 million securities worth S$86.9 million changed hands.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the most traded counter by volume in the morning, slipping S$0.01 or 0.9 per cent to S$1.15 after 21.8 million shares were traded.

AsiaPhos was another actively traded stock, jumping S$0.004 or 20 per cent to S$0.024 after 16.2 million shares changed hands.

The most active securities by value included Singtel, up S$0.03 or 0.9 per cent to S$3.29 with 4.3 million shares traded, and CapitaLand Commercial Trust, which rose S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent to S$2.12 after 1.7 million units changed hands.

All three local banks gained ground in the morning. DBS rose S$0.16 or 0.6 per cent to S$26.24, UOB was up S$0.06 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.83, and OCBC increased S$0.07 or 0.6 per cent to S$11.05.

In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 edged to records on Wednesday following a volatile session marked by the signing of the US-China trade agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to finish at 29,030.22, and the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent to 3,289.29. Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.1 per cent to end at 9,258.70.

European shares ended flat on Wednesday as investors held back from making any big bets ahead of the signing of the US-China trade agreement. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.01 per cent higher after remaining range-bound for most of the day.

In Asia, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.13 per cent or 31.74 points to 23,948.32, while the broader Topix index lost 0.01 per cent or 0.14 points to 1,730.92 points in early trade.