Singapore stocks inch higher at open; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Tuesday, building on Monday's gains and tracking a positive finish in US markets overnight.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 1.71 points or 0.1 per cent to 2,554.13 as at 9.05am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 69 to 53, after 132.6 million securities worth S$73.1 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded counters by volume, Medtecs International rose S$0.04 or 2.8 per cent to S$1.46, after 8.8 million shares changed hands.

Other active counters include Thai Beverage, which was trading flat at 58.5 Singapore cents, with 4.8 million shares traded.

AusGroup rose 0.2 Singapore cent or 10 per cent to 2.2 cents, after five million shares changed hands. The company on Monday said its subsidiary has been awarded a five-year scaffold and insulation services contract with Esso (Thailand) Public Company.

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Wilmar was among the most actively traded counters by value, dipping S$0.01 or 0.2 per cent to S$4.64.

Meanwhile, DBS was the only local bank that gained ground, rising S$0.02 or 0.1 per cent to S$21.42. UOB declined S$0.07 or 0.4 per cent to S$19.57, while OCBC slipped S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent to S$8.67.

In the US, tech stocks led markets higher on Monday, with Apple surging ahead of a new iPhone launch as investors shrugged off the stalemate over US stimulus talks in Washington.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.6 per cent to 11,876.26, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.9 per cent to 28,837.52, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.6 per cent to 3,534.22.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 per cent or 81.01 points to 23,639.70 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.4 per cent or 6.49 points to 1,649.84.