Singapore shares open with big gains on vaccine hopes; STI up 2.5%

SINGAPORE shares surged at Tuesday's open after Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Monday night that their Covid vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective in a study.

The Straits Times Index (STI) jumped 65.44 points or 2.5 per cent to 2,674.80 as at 9.07am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 165 to 74, after 322.9 million securities worth S$329.9 million changed hands.

Travel-related stocks were buoyed by news of the vaccine. Singapore Airlines jumped S$0.50 or 14.6 per cent to S$3.93, while SATS surged S$0.33 or 10.5 per cent to S$3.47 as at 9.26am. SIA Engineering gained S$0.13 or 8.1 per cent to S$1.74.

In contrast, glove makers took a hit on the news. Malaysian property developer and soon-to-be glove maker Aspen Holdings dropped four Singapore cents or 13.1 per cent to 26.5 cents as at 9.26am after gaining four cents or 15.1 per cent on Monday. Top Glove dropped S$0.17 or 6.1 per cent to S$2.61, while Catalist-listed UG Healthcare Corporation lost 13.5 Singapore cents or 13.9 per cent to 83.5 cents.

Medical apparel maker Medtecs International also lost ground, declining S$0.15 or 12.8 per cent to S$1.02.

Sembcorp Marine was among the most traded counters by volume, up 0.5 Singapore cent or 4.1 per cent at 12.8 cents after 20.1 million shares changed hands.

Other actives included Genting Singapore, up S$0.05 or 7.3 per cent to S$0.74 on 17.2 million shares traded, and Singapore Telecommunications, up S$0.03 or 1.4 per cent to S$2.18 after 15 million shares changed hands.

Local banks were among the most traded by value. DBS surged S$1.28 or 5.6 per cent to S$24.23, UOB jumped S$0.57 or 2.8 per cent to S$21.22 and OCBC increased S$0.22 or 2.4 per cent to S$9.32.

US shares revved higher on Monday on news of the coronavirus vaccine, but after blasting through records early in the session, Wall Street closed with more modest gains.

The bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 830 points or 2.95 per cent to finish the day at 29,157.97, while the broader S&P 500 rose 1.1 per cent to 3,550.5, about 30 points shy of a record. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq reversed early gains and slipped 0.7 per cent to close at 11,713.78.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened higher. The Nikkei was up 1.5 per cent or 377.79 points at 25,217.63 in the first minutes of the trading day, with the broader Topix index up 1.5 per cent or 25.33 points at 1,707.23.