Companies & Markets

Singapore shares open higher on Tuesday; STI up 0.2% to 3,241.64

Published Tue, Nov 5, 2019 · 01:36 AM

SINGAPORE shares edged slightly higher on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index rising 0.2 per cent, or 5.24 points to 3,241.64 as at 9.02am.

This comes after all three major US indices closed at record highs overnight - for the first time in almost four months - buoyed by optimism over international trade talks, and positive momentum from solid earnings.

On the Singapore bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 80 to 43, after about 50.3 million shares worth S$55.2 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Rex International gained 2.6 per cent, or 0.3 cent to 11.9 Singapore cents, with 10.6 million shares traded, while Spackman rose 7.1 per cent, or 0.1 cent to 1.5 Singapore cent, with 7.4 million shares traded.

The group on Tuesday said it has entered into an agreement with a strategic partner, Sunwoo Produce Inc, to collaborate in "entertainment-related business and investment". Sunwoo intends to invest in the group, and collaborate with Spackman to enter new overseas markets.

Meanwhile, banking stocks were mixed in the early morning trade. DBS added 0.6 per cent, or 15 cents to S$26.28, United Overseas Bank gained 0.4 per cent, or 10 cents to S$26.78, while OCBC Bank slipped 0.1 per cent, or one cent to S$11.06.

OCBC on Tuesday posted a 6 per cent fall in its third-quarter net profit to S$1.17 billion from S$1.25 billion a year ago, after booking a one-off charge at its Indonesian banking unit.

Other active index stocks included Ascendas Reit (real estate investment trust) which shed 0.6 per cent, or two cents to S$3.10 on a cum-dividend, cum-rights basis; while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose 0.5 per cent, or 0.5 cent to 96.5 cents.

Elsewhere, Asian equities rallied on Tuesday, spurred by signs that the US and China are inching closer to a truce in their trade war.

Japan's Topix rose 0.9 per cent as at 8.01am, South Korea's export and electronics-heavy benchmark Kospi inched 0.1 per cent higher, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 per cent.