Singapore stocks rise at Friday's open; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent or 8.18 points to 3,170.68 as at 9.01am. Gainers outnumbered losers 91 to 32, with 122.7 million securities worth S$60.2 million changing hands.

mm2 Asia was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 72 million shares worth S$5 million traded as at 9.01am. Its shares were trading at 7.5 Singapore cents, up 0.3 cent or 4.2 per cent.

CFM also saw brisk trading, with 3.2 million shares worth S$1.1 million changing hands in early trading. Its shares gained 8.1 per cent or 2.5 Singapore cents to 33.5 cents.

Index stock CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was also actively traded within the first minute of market open, with 2.1 million units worth S$4.7 million traded. The counter was down 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.15.

The trio of local banks were up in early trade. DBS gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$29.98 within two minutes of market open, UOB advanced 0.6 per cent or S$0.16 to S$26.26, and OCBC was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$12.40 as at 9.02am.

Over on Wall Street, all three major indices gained on Thursday as investors shrugged off data showing higher US inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.1 points or 0.1 per cent to 34,466.24; the S&P 500 gained 19.63 points, or 0.5 per cent, to end at an all-time high of 4,239.18; and the Nasdaq Composite added 108.58 points or 0.8 per cent to 14,020.33.

European stocks inched to fresh peaks on Thursday as the European Central Bank raised its recovery outlook and promised to keep ample stimulus flowing, while travel stocks fell after a recent run of gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up just 0.1 per cent, but at a fresh record high of 455.76 points, while the narrower index of eurozone stocks fell 0.1 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares on Friday opened on a muted note after a modest rally on the Dow on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 2.05 points and remained flat at 28,956.51 in early trade, while the broader Topix index declined 0.2 per cent or 3.48 points to 1,953.25.