Singapore stocks open higher, tracking Wall Street; STI up 0.8%

SINGAPORE shares rose at the opening bell on Monday, tracking a higher close in US markets on Friday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 20.50 points or 0.8 per cent to 2,731.89 as at 9.06am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 139 to 35, after 163.7 million securities worth S$124 million changed hands.

Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter by value, jumping 6.5 Singapore cents or 8.7 per cent to 81 cents, with 23.2 million shares traded.

The share price surge came despite the integrated resort operator saying in a business update on Saturday it "continues to experience weak demand" at Resorts World Sentosa, even after the property reopened in July amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Another heavily traded counter, Medtecs International rose six Singapore cents or 6.8 per cent to 94.5 cents, after 10 million shares changed hands.

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The personal protective equipment and hospital service provider said on Monday it is planning to transfer its listing to the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange. It also announced that the group will be included in the MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index from Nov 30, after market close that day.

Meanwhile, Singapore Telecommunications gained S$0.02 or 0.9 per cent to S$2.32, with 4.2 million shares traded.

The three local banks rose in early trade. DBS jumped S$0.24 or 1 per cent to S$24.12, UOB gained S$0.25 or 1.2 per cent to S$21.72, while OCBC put on S$0.08 or 0.8 per cent to S$9.66.

After a volatile week, Wall Street finished Friday on a high note, shrugging off concerns over the surge in Covid-19 cases and new pandemic restrictions that threaten the recovery of the US economy.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 per cent to close at 29,479.81, the broad-based S&P 500 added 1.4 per cent to 3,585.15, a new record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1 per cent to 11,829.29.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.1 per cent or 286.11 points at 25,671.98 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.2 per cent or 19.80 points to 1,723.02.