Singapore shares open higher tracking Wall Street; STI up 0.6%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Tuesday, tracking a US market which closed higher overnight on the eve of hotly contested elections.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 15.52 points or 0.6 per cent to 2,458.65 as at 9.05am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 112 to 28, after 50.9 million securities worth S$65 million changed hands.

Singtel was among the most traded counters by volume in the morning, rising S$0.02 or 1 per cent to S$2.02 after 3.3 million shares changed hands.

ARA Logos Logistics Trust also saw heavy trading, slipping 1.5 Singapore cents or 2.5 per cent to 58 cents on 1.1 million units traded.

The trust raised about S$50 million from a private placement to partially finance its proposed acquisition of five Australia properties and investment in two of the sponsor's funds, its manager said on Tuesday.

Wilmar International shares built on its higher close on Monday, gaining S$0.08 or 1.9 per cent to S$4.33 after 1.5 million shares changed hands.

The agri-business giant's shares jumped on Monday after it posted a 20 per cent rise in Q3 net profit and announced a special dividend on Friday.

CapitaLand rose S$0.03 or 1.2 per cent to S$2.54 after the property behemoth hit an eight-year low on Monday. It ended the day S$0.05 or 2 per cent lower at S$2.51.

Separately, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) was trading flat at S$1.76 after 1.9 million units changed hands. CapitaLand Mall Trust was renamed to CICT on Tuesday, following the delisting of CapitaLand Commercial Trust after their merger.

All three local banks gained ground in early trade. DBS, the most traded counter by value, rose S$0.24 or 1.2 per cent to S$20.87. UOB increased S$0.05 or 0.3 per cent to S$19.08 and OCBC edged up S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent to S$8.46.

In the US, stocks climbed on Monday on the eve of the US elections, winning back a fraction of last week's rout that concluded the market's worst week and month since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the major indices, advancing 1.6 per cent to 26,925.05. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent to 3,310.24 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4 per cent to 10,957.61.

Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets in Japan were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.