Singapore stocks open in the green; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks opened higher on Monday (Dec 2), following gains in Asia as markets enter a seasonally strong period.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 27.04 points or 0.7 per cent to 3,766.33 as at 9.01 am. Advancers outnumbered decliners 85 to 23, as 48.8 million shares worth S$69.4 million changed hands.

Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) was among the most heavily traded, gaining S$0.01 or 1.8 per cent to S$0.575 as nearly 5.8 million shares were transacted.

Also actively traded were shares of Singapore Post (SingPost). Before the market opened, the firm said it has entered a share purchase agreement to divest its Australian business at an enterprise value of A$1 billion (S$870 million). The stock jumped 2.6 per cent, or S$0.015 to S$0.595.

Joining the advance were the three Singapore banks. DBS was trading S$0.31 or 0.7 per cent higher at S$42.74, OCBC rose S$0.09 or 0.6 per cent to S$16.37 while UOB gained S$0.31 or 0.9 per cent to S$36.67.

The gains follow record closing highs in a shortened Black Friday session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were lifted by technology stocks such as Nvidia, while retail was in focus as the holiday shopping season kicked off. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent to 6,032.44 points after breaching its intraday record high of 6,025.42 set on Nov 26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4 per cent to 44,910.65 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.8 per cent at 19,218.17 points.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 ended the week on a high note, bolstered by a rally in tech stocks, while investors analysed the eurozone inflation report to assess the likelihood of a larger interest rate cut later this month. The pan-European main stock index reversed earlier losses and was up 0.6 per cent at 510.25 points on Friday, logging its first monthly gain since August. It rose 1 per cent in November.

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