Singapore stocks rise at Tuesday's open; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares rose in early trade on Tuesday (Dec 7), after stocks rallied on Wall Street over optimism on the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The Straits Times Index (STI) nudged up 0.4 per cent or 10.81 points to 3,127.13 as at 9.03 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 117 to 26, after 55.5 million securities worth S$72.3 million changed hands.

HGH Holdings 5GZ : 5GZ 0%was the top gainer in terms of volume, rising S$0.001 or 6.7 per cent to S$0.016 after 7.5 million shares were traded.

Vividthree OMK : OMK 0%was also actively traded at the open, gaining S$0.004 or 5.6 per cent, with 2.8 million shares changing hands.

Index counter Singapore Airlines C6L : C6L 0%was among the most actively traded counters on Tuesday morning, with 2.7 million shares traded. The counter edged up S$0.01 or 0.2 per cent to S$4.89.

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The trio of local banks were in the green at the open. DBS was up S$0.20 or 0.6 per cent at S$32.01, UOB gained S$0.10 or 0.4 per cent to trade at S$26.70, while OCBC edged up S$0.08 or 0.7 per cent to S$11.43 as at 9.03 am.

Over at Wall Street, stocks rallied on Monday (Dec 6) on hopes that the newest Covid-19 variant will prove less virulent than earlier strains, though market watchers cautioned of more volatility ahead.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent to 4,591.67, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.9 per cent to 15,225.15.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial average finished up 1.9 per cent at 35,227.03.

After sharp losses late last week, travel stocks helped European shares mark a strong start to the week on Monday boosted by hopes that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus would be mild.

After marking its third straight week in the red, the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 1.3 per cent at 468.71.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors took heart from strong rebounds on Wall Street on hopes that the newest coronavirus variant will prove less virulent than earlier strains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.65 per cent at 28,109.68 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.70 per cent to 1,961.10.