Singapore stocks open higher on Wednesday; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Wednesday (Mar 23), with the Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 0.3 per cent or 11.5 points to 3,361.67 as at 9.04 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 95 to 44, after 100 million securities worth S$99 million changed hands.

The most actively traded counter by volume was Oceanus , which saw 30.2 million of its shares worth S$690,000 traded in the morning. Its shares gained S$0.002 or 9.5 per cent to S$0.023.

This was followed by Sembcorp Marine , which saw 18.2 million of its shares worth S$1.7 million changing hands. Its shares were up S$0.001 or 1.1 per cent to S$0.094.

The oil and gas company on Wednesday said its unit secured a contract to construct a wind turbine installation vessel. It did not disclose the value of the contract.

Lendlease Reit was also actively traded, with 9.9 million units worth S$7.6 million changing hands. The counter was down S$0.03 or 3.8 per cent at S$0.765.

The real estate investment trust's private placement to raise at least S$325 million was 3.3 times subscribed, it said on Wednesday. It was priced at S$0.725 for each new unit, the lower end of its S$0.725 and S$0.74 issue price range.

Among index stocks, CapitaLand Investment saw brisk trading, with 587,700 shares worth S$2.3 million changing hands. Its shares were up S$0.04 or 1 per cent at S$3.93.

The company's lodging business unit The Ascott has acquired 2 properties in Ningbo, China and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for a total of S$190 million through its private equity fund with Qatar Investment Authority, it said on Wednesday.

The trio of local banks were up in early trade. DBS gained S$0.25 or 0.7 per cent to S$35.29, UOB rose S$0.02 or 0.1 per cent to S$32.15, while OCBC was up S$0.03 or 0.3 per cent to S$12.16.

In the US, Wall Street stocks regained their swagger after a down session to open the week, notching solid gains on Tuesday following good Nike earnings and as markets monitored ongoing developments in Ukraine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7 per cent at 34,807.46, the broad-based S&P 500 won 1.1 per cent to end at 4,511.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.0 per cent to 14,108.82.

Meanwhile, European shares rose on Tuesday, boosted by gains in banks on prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes following hawkish comments by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.9 per cent after a lacklustre start to the week, helped by a 2.5 per cent jump in European banks.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors monitor developments in Ukraine.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.5 per cent or 405.02 points at 27,629.13 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.2 per cent or 23.60 points to 1,957.34.