Singapore stocks: STI resumes Thursday afternoon at 3,231.41, up 0.73% on day

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher as trading resumed on Thursday afternoon, with the Straits Times Index increasing 0.73 per cent or 23.49 points to 3,231.41 as at 1.03pm, amid a mixed performance in Asian markets following the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates again.

On the Singapore bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 174 to 134, or about four securities up for every three down, after 632.7 million securities worth S$668.3 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Pollux Properties advanced 70.0 per cent or S$0.021 to S$0.051 with 82.0 million shares traded. Rex International Holding stayed flat at S$0.106 with 33.3 million shares traded. Meanwhile, Sunmoon Food Company advanced 9.2 per cent or S$0.006 to S$0.071 with 28.0 million shares traded.

Active index stocks included Singtel, up 1.2 per cent or S$0.04 to S$3.30; and ComfortDelGro Corp, down 2.1 per cent or S$0.05 to S$2.29.

Financials also reopened stronger, with DBS Group Holdings up 1.1 per cent or S$0.28 to S$25.97; OCBC Bank, up 0.8 per cent or S$0.09 to S$10.99; and United Overseas Bank, up 1.1 per cent or S$0.29 to S$26.89.

In the region, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.68 per cent to its highest since July 30. Hong Kong shares rose 1.16 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.2 per cent. Seoul was up 0.9 per cent.

In Australia and New Zealand the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2 per cent or 15.8 points to 6,673.70 by 0038 GMT. The index is set to fall 0.2 per cent in October, after a 1.3 per cent gain in September.