Singapore stocks open higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE shares were pulled into positive territory on Tuesday, with a strong lead from Wall Street overnight.

The Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 21.97 points or 0.7 per cent to 2,994.97 as at 9.02am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 132 to 25, after 68.9 million securities worth S$68.9 million changed hands.

IG's senior market strategist Pan Jingyi told The Business Times (BT) on Tuesday that equities appear to be shrugging off some of the concerns with respect to elevated bond yields, with the focus returning to the theme of global economic recovery. "Gains into Tuesday would see the local STI eyeing the 3,000 level, looking for a clear break here," she said.

"That said, the jury is still out with regard to the threat of the rising bond yield on both risk sentiment and equities in general.

"The series of economic data and Fed speakers will be the highlights this week and for the day ahead, besides the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision, Singapore's February manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index will be one to watch," added Ms Pan.

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On the Singapore bourse, the most heavily traded by volume among the index securities was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which gained S$0.02 or 1.9 per cent to S$1.10, with 1.4 million shares traded.

Singapore Airlines jumped S$0.14 or 2.7 per cent to S$5.38, with 1.4 million shares changing hands. This comes after the national carrier advanced S$0.26 or 5.2 per cent to close at S$5.24 on Monday amid a global airline stock rally. That said, the exuberance over aviation stocks may be misplaced, BT reported on Tuesday.

The trio of banking stocks were up in early trade. DBS gained S$0.22 or 0.8 per cent to S$27.32, UOB rose S$0.17 or 0.7 per cent to S$25.33, while OCBC advanced S$0.10 or 0.9 per cent to S$11.19.

ISDN Holdings put on S$0.04 or 7.1 per cent to S$0.60, while Cosco Shipping International (Singapore) gained 0.5 Singapore cent or 1.8 per cent to 28 cents. Boosted by government grants and contributions from newly acquired subsidiaries in Malaysia, Cosco on Monday night reported a 13 per cent increase in FY2020 net profit to S$8.33 million.

Meanwhile, FJ Benjamin rose 0.1 Singapore cent or 4.8 per cent to 2.2 cents as it resumed trading on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The firm was removed from SGX's watchlist with effect from Tuesday, and has since transferred from the mainboard to the Catalist board.

Over on Wall Street, equities rallied on Monday on stimulus and vaccine hopes as the bond markets took a breather. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 603.14 points or 2 per cent to 31,535.51, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 90.67 points or 2.4 per cent to 3,901.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 396.48 points or 3 per cent to 13,588.83.

European shares ended higher on Monday after bond markets stabilised from a sharp sell-off last week, with travel and leisure stocks leading gains. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index rose 1.8 per cent - its best day in nearly four months - after tumbling more than 2 per cent last week.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.8 per cent or 229.94 points at 29,893.44 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.5 per cent or 8.6 points to 1,911.03.