Singapore stocks open higher on Thursday; STI up 1.2%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Thursday (Mar 17), continuing the rallies seen in global markets overnight.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.2 per cent, or 40.24 points at 3,331.14 as at 9.02 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 126 to 32, as some 79.3 million securities worth S$135.5 million changed hands.

Oil and gas company Sembcorp Marine S51 was the most actively traded counter.

Over 14.7 million of its securities were transacted, and its share price rose 1.1 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.09.

Shipbuilding company Marco Polo Marine 5LY was also heavily traded, with 9.6 million shares changing hands. Its price went up 3.6 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.029.

Some 5.6 million securities of Thai Beverage Y92 were also traded, making it one of the most actively traded counters in Thursday's early trade.

Its share price climbed 1.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$0.685.

The shares of the 3 local banks also rose in tandem with the overall market. DBS D05 went up 0.9 per cent or S$0.30 at S$34.87, while UOB U11 climbed 2.6 per cent or S$0.81 at S$32.41.

OCBC O39 opened higher by 1.9 per cent or S$0.23 at S$12.16.

Index counters Singtel Telecommunications (Singtel) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) also made gains.

Singtel Z74 shares rose 1.2 per cent or S$0.03 at S$2.58, while SIA C6L shares went up 2.0 per cent or S$0.10 to S$5.23.

Over in the United States, Wall Street stocks finished solidly higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates in a heavily-telegraphed move designed to counter inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.6 per cent at 34,063.10. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.2 per cent to 4,357.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 3.8 per cent to 13,436.55.

The US central bank's first interest rate hike since 2018 marks an effort to counter spiking consumer prices even as Russia's invasion of Ukraine introduces new uncertainty in an economy battered by supply chain snarls and labour shortages.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell expressed confidence the US economy could withstand the tightening of monetary policy, even as the central bank trimmed its growth forecast for 2022.

Wall Street's rally comes on the back of European stocks closing at over 2-week highs on Wednesday. Fresh talks of compromise from Russia and Ukraine boosted gains spurred by China's promise to roll out more economic stimulus.

Moscow and Kyiv discussed a status for Ukraine outside of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, lifting hopes for a breakthrough after 3 weeks of war.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 3.1 per cent, at its highest level since Feb 28.

Sentiments were also lifted elsewhere in Asia on the back of the Federal Reserve's rate hike and falling oil prices. Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 2.6 per cent or 679.40 points to 26,441.41 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 2.2 per cent or 40.28 points to 1,893.53.