SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Monday after Wall Street ended a choppy week of trading to log a muted close last Friday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 2.73 points or 0.1 per cent to 2,883.37 as at 9.02am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 86 to 46, after 184.4 million securities worth S$48.1 million changed hands.

Thomson Medical was the most active counter in terms of volume, gaining 0.4 Singapore cent or 4 per cent to 10.5 cents with some 38 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, shares of Oceanus are building on the previous week's ascent. The seafood supplier was queried by the Singapore Exchange last Friday following a 13.4 per cent share price increase. It gained 0.1 Singapore cent or 1.3 per cent to 7.6 cents at Monday's open.

Among the index securities, Thai Beverage shed half a Singapore cent or 0.7 per cent to 73.5 cents after 2.1 million shares changed hands.

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The trio of local banks were all up at Monday's open. DBS inched up S$0.01 or 0.04 per cent to S$25.64, UOB gained S$0.02 or 0.1 per cent to S$23.62, while OCBC rose S$0.04 or 0.4 per cent to S$10.58.

Over on Wall Street, stocks finished little changed Friday to conclude a week where optimism over coronavirus vaccines and economic stimulus competed with inflation fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended unchanged at 31,494.32. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,906.71, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 per cent at 13,874.46.

European shares rose on Friday to mark a third week of gains as data showed factory activity in February jumped to a three-year high, while upbeat quarterly earnings boosted confidence in a broader economic recovery. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5 per cent as regional factory activity was seen reaching a three-year high on strong demand for manufactured goods at home and overseas.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday as investors adjusted positions following three days of rout, and after Wall Street shares finished flat.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.2 per cent or 356.15 points at 30,374.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.2 per cent or 22.42 points to 1,951.37.