Singapore stocks open slightly higher on Thursday; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Thursday. The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 1.68 points to 3,120.30 as at 9.01am. Gainers outnumbered losers 76 to 41, with 76.1 million securities worth S$53.8 million changing hands.

Tuan Sing was the second-most active counter by volume, with 13.1 million shares worth S$6.6 million traded within the first minute of market open. Its shares were at 51 Singapore cents, up 3.5 cents or 7.4 per cent.

Index stock Yangzijiang was also actively traded, with 10.3 million shares worth S$14.7 million changing hands. The counter was up 5.1 per cent or S$0.07 at S$1.45.

The shipbuilding group announced on Wednesday that it has secured orders to build and deliver 14 vessels with a total contract value of US$715 million. With these orders, the group has received the largest number of order wins by total contract value this year since 2008, expressing optimism at securing more orders amid "favourable market sentiments".

Rex International also saw brisk trading, with 1.18 million shares worth S$220,000 traded. Its shares were at 18.7 Singapore cents, up 1.1 per cent or 0.2 cent.

The oil and gas company on Thursday said the senior secured bond issue worth 500 million Norwegian krones (S$78.9 million) of its 90 per cent-owned subsidiary Lime Petroleum was fully subscribed. The 2.5-year senior secured bond is a condition precedent for Lime Petroleum's acquisition of Brage field in Norway.

The three local banks were mixed in early trade. As at 9.01am, DBS was up 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 at S$29.34. It announced on Wednesday that it had completed Singapore's first export financing transaction referencing the US dollar Secured Overnight Financing Rate with food and agri-business Bunge.

OCBC gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$11.85, while UOB slipped 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$25.64.

Over on Wall Street, the broad-based S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Wednesday, just before key earnings later in the week. It moved above its all-time closing high during the session, but failed to hold the gains even as the Nasdaq eked out a second straight record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2 per cent to 33,874.24, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 4,241.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1 per cent to 14,271.73, slightly higher than Tuesday's record.

European stocks remained below record highs on Wednesday as inflation worries overshadowed data showing a rise in June business activity, while shares of French luxury goods makers tumbled on the back of a ratings downgrade from HSBC. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.7 per cent at 453.10.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday amid cautious trading after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors digested the latest economic data and news on Covid-19 vaccines. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.3 per cent or 80.11 points at 28,794.78 in early trade, while the broader Topix index declined 0.2 per cent or 4.18 points to 1,944.96.