Singapore stocks: STI resumes Wednesday afternoon at 3,379.26, up 0.18% on day

THE Straits Times Index edged down from its 0.22 per cent market open gains as trading resumed on Wednesday afternoon, up 0.18 per cent or 6.13 points on the day to 3,379.26 as at 1.04pm.

Gainers outnumbered losers 202 to 164, after 883.4 million securities worth S$482.9 million changed hands.

Some of the bourse's smaller stocks were the most heavily traded by volume. Nico Steel jumped S$0.001 or 25 per cent to S$0.005 with 84.6 million shares traded, while Jiutian Chemical gained S$0.003 or 20 per cent to S$0.018 with 59.4 million shares traded.

Spackman Entertainment traded flat at S$0.018 with 36.9 million shares changing hands.

Singtel remained one of the most active index stocks, trading down S$0.04 or 1.1 per cent to S$3.48.

All three local banks saw gains on Wednesday, with DBS up S$0.17 or 0.6 per cent to S$26.80, UOB up S$0.13 or 0.5 per cent to S$26.93, and OCBC gaining S$0.06 or 0.5 per cent to S$11.74.

Elsewhere in Asia, most markets enjoyed another day of gains, with support coming from more healthy earnings results and renewed hopes for a resolution of the China-US trade war.

The Australia market was also up amid positive signs in trade negotiations between the US and China. New Zealand bucked the positive trend, with its benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index falling 0.36 per cent, or 39.40 points, to 10,827.85.