Singapore stocks open higher on Thursday despite modest losses in the US; STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE stocks were up in early trade on Thursday (Jun 23), disregarding the modest losses that Wall Street sustained just a day earlier.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) moved up 0.5 per cent or 15.38 points to 3,108.69. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 81 to 28 after 29.7 million securities worth S$43.2 million changed hands. The most active counter by volume was Yangzijiang Financial Holding : BS6 0%, which rose 1.1 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.45 with 6.1 million shares changing hands as at 9 am.

Other heavily traded securities included NetLink NBN Trust : CJLU 0%, which gained 1.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.945 with 1.7 million units traded, as well as Rex International, : 5WH 0% which slipped 3.5 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.28 with 912,400 shares traded.

One of the most actively traded index counters by volume was Singtel : Z74 0%, which inched up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.53 with 835,600 shares changing hands.

All 3 Singapore banks saw positive gains at the opening bell. DBS : D05 0% traded up 1.1 per cent or S$0.33 at S$30.29, UOB : U11 0% gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.12 to S$26.74, while OCBC : O39 0% moved up 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.38.

In the US, stocks ended Wednesday’s trading session with modest losses as oil prices retreated and Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell acknowledged interest rate hikes could lead to a recession.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 per cent to end at 30,483.13, the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to close at 3,759.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 per cent to 11,053.10.

European stocks also closed lower on Wednesday, mirroring the slide in the US after Powell said the US central bank is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.7 per cent, after having fallen 1.8 per cent to its lowest since January 2021.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened higher on Thursday as investors weighed on recession and inflation risks after Powell pointed to the need for further rate hikes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.22 per cent or 58.77 points to 26,208.32, while the broader Topix index added 0.41 per cent or 7.62 points to 1,860.27.