Singapore stocks advance after US inflation policy shift; STI up 1% at open

SINGAPORE shares were pulled into positive territory on Friday, tracking a Wall Street rally overnight after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell announced changes designed to give the US central bank more flexibility on monetary policy.

On the Singapore bourse, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 25.84 points or 1 per cent to 2,545.65 as at 9am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 106 to 20, after 39.5 million securities worth S$27.4 million changed hands.

Among the index securities, the most heavily traded counter by volume was Singtel, which rose S$0.02 or 0.9 per cent to S$2.31, with 791,100 shares traded.

On Thursday, digital merchant Fave said it is collaborating with Singtel and DBS on digital payments and cashback offerings for consumers.

Genting Singapore gained 0.5 Singapore cent or 0.7 per cent to 71 cents, with some 567,200 shares traded.

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Amid a sea of green, banking stocks rose across the board in early trade. DBS added S$0.20 or 1 per cent to S$20.66, United Overseas Bank added S$0.21 or 1.1 per cent to S$19.69, while OCBC Bank shot up S$0.13 or 1.5 per cent to S$8.74.

Other active securities included SATS which rose S$0.06 or 2.1 per cent to S$2.99, while CapitaLand edged up S$0.05 or 1.8 per cent to S$2.80.

Over on Wall Street, US indices mostly crept higher, following the Federal Reserve's major inflation policy change. Under the new strategy, the US central bank will allow inflation to stay above the 2 per cent target "for some time" before hiking interest rates. The Fed's latest approach also gives greater weight to its mission of maximising employment for the benefit of lower-income families.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 per cent to close at 28,492.27, while the broad-based S&P 500 posted its fifth straight record rising 0.2 per cent to 3,484.55. The Nasdaq however, snapped its streak of five back-to-back records, retreating 0.4 per cent to finish at 11,926.16.

European equity markets ended lower on Thursday, with resource stocks weighing the most. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.6 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday buoyed by a cheaper yen and US rallies. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2 per cent or 56.42 points at 23,265.28 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.5 per cent or 7.83 points to 1,623.72.