SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, July 17, echoing the gains seen on Wall Street, where both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reached new record highs.
The Straits Times Index (STI) inched up by 0.1%, adding 3.24 points to hit 3,491.15 as of 9:01 am, as reported by The Business Times.
In the broader market, there were 76 gainers compared to 33 losers. A total of 46.9 million securities changed hands worth S$89.6 million.
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was the most active stock by volume, rising by 1% or S$0.02 to S$2.11, with 4.4 million shares traded.
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust also saw significant activity, increasing by 4.1% or US$0.003 to US$0.077, with 4.1 million units changing hands.
Singtel climbed by 1.6% or S$0.05 to S$3.10, with 3.6 million shares traded. Singtel’s associate company, Intouch Holdings, announced that it had entered into an amalgamation agreement with Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development.
This merger will create a new public entity named NewCo.
Banking stocks showed mixed results in early trading. DBS fell by 0.7% or S$0.26 to S$37.10, while UOB rose by 0.3% or S$0.10 to S$33.16. OCBC dipped slightly, down 0.6% or S$0.09 to S$15.05.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 1.9%, closing at a new high of 40,954.48. The S&P 500 also set a new record, gaining 0.6% to close at 5,667.2. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 0.2% to finish at 18,509.34.
Strong earnings reports from major companies and expectations of potential interest rate cuts in the US drove this optimism.
In contrast, European shares fell on Tuesday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.3%, weighed down by a weak performance in commodity-linked stocks luxury brands.
Investors remained cautious, considering the possibility of Donald Trump winning the upcoming US presidential election.
/TISG
Read also: Singapore stocks slipped on Tuesday—STI dropped by 0.1%
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