Singapore stocks advance at Friday’s open, mirroring Wall Street gains; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Friday (Jun 24) morning, following US equities’ rally on Thursday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.4 per cent or 13.21 points to 3,106.01 as at 9.01 am. Advancers outnumbered decliners 90 to 22 after 26 million securities worth S$36.9 million changed hands.

Keppel Reit  was the top traded counter by volume, shedding 0.9 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.10 with some 1.8 million units traded in the morning.

Other heavily traded securities include Jiutian Chemical , which gained 1.1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.094 with 1.8 million shares changing hands, as well as  Sembcorp Marine , which rose 1.9 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.107 with 1.2 million shares traded.

Among index counters,  Singtel  saw brisk trading with 989,300 shares changing hands at the open. It was up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.54.

The trio of local lenders were mixed in early trade.  DBS advanced 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$29.95,  UOB opened unchanged at S$26.45, while  OCBC  gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.07 to S$11.40.

In the US, equities finished higher after yet another volatile session on Thursday as investors assess how rising recession risk affects the outlook for oil prices and monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.6 per cent at 30,677.36. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to finish at 3,795.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.6 per cent to 11,232.19.

European shares hit one of its lowest lows for the past year on Thursday, as investors worry over signs of slowing euro zone business activity.

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The continent-wide Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.8 per cent, which brings it close to hitting a 19 per cent dip since it soared to a record closing high on Jan 5.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s market opened flat on Friday in cautious trade against the backdrop of a looming recession.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.04 per cent or 11.14 points at 26,182.39 in early trade after floating between positive and negative territory, while the broader Topix index was down 0.22 per cent or 4.05 points at 1,847.69.