Singapore shares open up 0.5% on Thursday

SINGAPORE stocks opened 0.5 per cent higher on Thursday, buoyed by a strong US stock market, with the Straits Times Index moving up 16.87 points to 3,558.78 as at 9.03 am.

About 109.5 million shares worth S$133 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$1.21 per share.

The most actively traded counter was JEP Holdings, which rose 0.6 Singapore cent to 7.4 Singapore cents with 16.38 million shares changing hands. Other actives included DISA and Vashion.

Active index stocks included Keppel Corp's at S$8.28 apiece, up eight Singapore cents or 0.976 per cent, and DBS at S$26.35 a share, up 14 Singapore cents or 0.534 per cent.

Gainers outnumbered losers 127 to 26, or about five up for every one down.

In US stocks overnight, investor enthusiasm sent all three major stock indices to record finishes, and the Dow to its first close above 26,000 points.

The bluechip Dow gained 1.3 per cent to close at 26,115.65 - just eight trading sessions after breaking the 25,000 mark - with strong showings from Boeing, IBM and Intel.

The broader S&P 500 added 0.9 per cent to close at 2,802.56, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained a full percentage point to settle at 7,298.28, according to AFP reporting.

Tokyo's Nikkei broke above the 24,000-mark on Thursday for the first time in more than 26 years, while Australian stocks inched higher on Thursday in early trading too.