Singapore stocks open higher on Tuesday; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Tuesday morning, mirroring regional markets and tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, where stocks rose following more positive news on Covid-19 vaccines.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.7 per cent or 21.1 points to 2,869.88 as at 9.01am, the third consecutive day of gains for the index.

Gainers outnumbered losers 126 to 30, after 220 million securities worth S$126 million changed hands.

Aviation-related counters such as SATS and Singapore Airlines were trading higher, after AstraZeneca announced on Monday that its Covid-19 vaccine could be up to 90 per cent effective.

SIA shares rose S$0.06 or 1.5 per cent to S$4.13, while SATS shares were up S$0.07 or 1.7 per cent to S$4.15 as at 9.02 am.

Sembcorp Marine shares were among the most actively traded on Tuesday morning, with 31 million shares changing hands as at 9.02 am. The stock rose 4 per cent or 0.6 Singapore cent to 15.6 cents. The stock had climbed 12.8 per cent on Monday to 15 cents with analysts attributing the surge to "beaten down cyclicals", a rise in crude prices and broader vaccine optimism.

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Shares of Broadway Industrial Group were also actively traded on Tuesday morning, rising 9.7 per cent or 1.2 Singapore cents to 13.6 cents as at 9.02 am. The mainboard-listed company on Tuesday said Seksun Technology (Suzhou) Co has made an offer to buy Broadway Industrial's hard disk drive business for US$50 million.

Top Glove shares were trading lower at Tuesday's open, falling 5.4 per cent or S$0.13 to S$2.26. It comes after news that the Malaysian glove maker will suspend operations at its manufacturing facilities in Meru, Klang, following its workers testing positive for Covid-19.

Wall Street stocks advanced on Monday following another upbeat announcement about a new coronavirus vaccine and news of President-elect Joe Biden's selection of Janet Yellen to be treasury secretary.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent to 29,591.27. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.6 per cent to 3,577.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2 per cent at 11,880.63.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened higher on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he no longer opposed government aid for Mr Biden's transition team, with markets also buoyed by new vaccine news.

The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.9 per cent or 486.82 points to 26,014.19 in early trade, after a long weekend. The broader Topix index added 2 per cent or 34.51 points to 1,761.90.

The ASX 200 in Australia was also up around 1 per cent to 6,626.9 in morning trade.