SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks opened positively on Monday, Aug 19, following Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first National Day Rally speech.
The Straits Times Index (STI) rose by 1.1%, adding 37.16 points to reach 3,352.89 at 9:01 am, as reported by The Business Times. In the broader market, 58 stocks gained compared to 32, which declined after 16 million securities worth S$41.6 million were traded.
Yoma Strategic Holdings was among the most actively traded stocks by volume, but it faced a notable decline. Its shares dropped 8.9% to S$0.092, with 3.1 million shares traded. Meanwhile, Singtel experienced a slight gain.
The stock rose by 0.3%, up S$0.01 to S$2.99. Genting Singapore also saw a slight decline, with its share price dropping 0.6%, or S$0.005, to S$0.82.
Banking shares were up as trading began. DBS Group Holdings rose by 1.5%, or S$0.54, to S$36.10. United Overseas Bank (UOB) also posted gains, with its share price climbing 0.4%, or S$0.13, to S$30.56.
OCBC joined the upward trend, with its share price up 0.6%, gaining S$0.09 to reach S$14.40.
Wall Street closed higher on Friday as gold prices hit a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.2% to 40,659.76. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also posted gains, each rising by 0.2%, closing at 5,554.25 and 17,631.72, respectively.
In Europe, markets ended last week with healthy gains, buoyed by positive sentiment following encouraging economic data from the United States. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3% higher, at 511.45. /TISG
Read also: Singapore stocks open higher on Friday—STI climbed by 1%
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