Singapore shares open higher on Wednesday, STI up 7.47 points

SINGAPORE shares opened 0.2 per cent higher with the Straits Times Index up 7.47 points to 3,437.77 as at 9.02am on Wednesday.

About 93 million shares worth S$66 million in total changed hands as gainers outnumbered losers 102 to 34.

The most actively traded stock was Magnus Energy, which traded at S$0.001 with 16.8 million shares changing hands.

Other actives included DISA and Cosco Shipping.

Active index stocks included Keppel Corporation, up S$0.03 or 0.4 per cent at S$7.56; and Venture Corporation shares trading at S$0.1 or 0.5 per cent up at S$21.52 .

US markets started the year in the same fashion it ended as Wall Street enjoyed a record closing round on the back of a rally by technology stocks. The Dow rose 0.42 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.83 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.5 per cent.

In regional markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2 per cent as at 8.14am in Singapore, while New Zealand's benchmark gauge climbed 0.3 per cent. Futures on Seoul's Kospi Index advanced 0.3 per cent.

Japanese markets remain closed on Wednesday and will resume trading on Thursday.