SINGAPORE shares opened stronger on Thursday (Nov 17) morning, bucking the trend of losses in global markets.
As at 9.05 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.4 per cent or 13.4 points to 3,279.57. Gainers outnumbered losers 71 to 52 after 46.2 million securities worth S$90.7 million changed hands.
The top-traded counter by volume was Singtel : Z74 +0.71%. The telecommunications giant rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.81 with 8.7 million shares traded.
Halcyon Agri : 5VJ +34.48% was also heavily traded at the open, with four million shares transacted after it announced that a Chinese rubber producer will be acquiring a 36 per cent stake in the company, at US$0.315 per share. The counter rose 32.8 per cent or S$0.095 to S$0.385.
9R : 1Y1 +5.56% also saw brisk trading, rising 5.6 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.057 after 2.9 million shares changed hands.
The trio of local banks all opened Thursday stronger, led by DBS : D05 +1.14%, which gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.20 to S$35.27. UOB : U11 +1.21% rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$29.90, while OCBC : O39 +0.56% advanced 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.43.
In the US, stocks closed lower on Wednesday as markets grappled with a mixed picture involving resilient retail sales but a gloomier outlook for the holiday season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 per cent to finish the session at 33,553.83. The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.8 per cent to 3,958.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.5 per cent to close at 11,183.66.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the Stoxx 600 ended its four-day winning streak on Wednesday, led by losses in shares of Mercedes Benz Group, while a dour forecast from US big box retailer Target pressured regional retailers on concerns about consumer spending.
The pan-European stock index closed 1 per cent down to 430.17.
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s key Nikkei index opened lower on Thursday after Wall Street shares slumped as a major US retailer warned of a softer holiday season.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.2 per cent or 56.99 points to 27,971.31 at the open, but the broader Topix index edged up 0.04 per cent or 0.78 points to 1,964.07.
(Source : BUSINESS TIMES) , all rights reserved by original source.
