Singapore stocks rise at Thursday’s open, STI up 0.9%

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Thursday (May 26), tracking gains on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.9 per cent or 28.79 points to 3,208.37 as at 9.03 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 103 to 37, after 102.9 million securities worth S$70.5 million changed hands.

The most actively traded counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine : S51 0%, which saw 33 million of its shares worth S$3.7 million traded at 9.03 am. Its shares were up S$0.003 or 2.7 per cent at S$0.113.

Yangzijiang Financial Holding : YF8 0% also saw brisk trading, with 3.1 million shares worth S$1.5 million changing hands. The counter was up S$0.005 or 1.1 per cent at S$0.48.

Among index stocks, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust : C38U 0% was actively traded, with 1.4 million units worth S$3.1 million changing hands. It was up S$0.03 or 1.4 per cent at S$2.24.

The trio of local banks were up in early trade. DBS : D05 0% rose S$0.33 or 1.1 per cent at S$30.83, UOB : U11 0% was up S$0.34 or 1.2 per cent to S$29.17, while OCBC : O39 0% gained S$0.07 or 0.6 per cent to S$11.63.

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In the US, Wall Street stocks finished a choppy session higher as investors took an optimistic view of Federal Reserve minutes that reiterated plans to raise interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 per cent to 32,120.28, the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1 per cent to 3,978.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.5 per cent to 11,434.74.

Meanwhile, European shares rose on Wednesday, lifted by resource-linked stocks and banks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.6 per cent. Banks, which benefit when interest rates rise, rose 1.1 per cent to hit a fresh 1-month high and were among the biggest boosts to the index.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday following gains on Wall Street while investors searched for fresh trading cues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.1 per cent or 36.94 points to 26,714.74, while the broader Topix index rose 0.5 per cent or 8.43 points to 1,885.01.