Singapore stocks little changed at Friday's open; STI dips 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks dipped slightly in early trade on Friday, amid cautious trading.

The Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.1 per cent or 2.87 points to 3,156.39 as at 9.01am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 77 to 53 after 51.61 million securities worth S$38.4 million changed hands.

AnAn International Y35 shares were among the most actively traded securities on Friday morning, with 4.1 million shares changing hands as at 9.01am. The counter gained 10 per cent or 0.3 Singapore cent to 3.3 cents.

Among index counters, Genting Singapore G13 was among the most actively traded counters. Its shares were flat at S$0.81 after 2.4 million shares changed hands.

Marco Polo Marine 5LY was also among the top five actively traded counters in terms of volume. Its shares were up 3.7 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 2.8 cents.

The trio of local banks saw mixed trading on Friday morning. DBS D05 was down 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$30.13, OCBC O39 fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$12.10, while UOB U11 edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$25.94.

In the US, stocks edged up as good earnings news lifted investor confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1 per cent at 34,823.35, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,367.48, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 14,684.60.

European stocks also rose for a third straight session on Thursday, after the European Central Bank pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for even longer and strong corporate earnings underpinned optimism about an economic recovery.

The region-wide Stoxx 600 rose 0.6 per cent to 456.53.

Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets in Japan are closed on Friday for a public holiday.