SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks rose on Friday with a slight uptick, brushing off the overnight downturn witnessed on Wall Street. Analysts had been anticipating a slowdown in Federal Reserve activity, which seemed to weigh on sentiment across the pond.
The Business Times reported that the Straits Times Index (STI) nudged up by 0.2% or 4.64 points reaching 3,192.3 as of 9:01 am.
In the broader market, the balance tilted slightly towards gainers, with 54 counters on the rise compared to 44 in decline. Trading activity saw 39.7 million securities changing hands, amounting to a total value of S$69.8 million.
Taking the spotlight in terms of trading volume was Thai Beverage, holding steady at S$0.48 with 4.8 million securities being traded. Meanwhile, Seatrium remained flat at S$0.076 with 4.3 million shares changing hands, and Genting Singapore edged up by 1.1% or S$0.01 to hit S$0.94 after trading 2.1 million shares.
Banking stocks displayed a mixed bag of performances in the early hours of trading. DBS saw a modest gain of 0.4% or S$0.16 to reach S$36.61, while OCBC advanced by 0.2% or S$0.02 to hit S$13.73. On the flip side, UOB dipped by 0.2% or S$0.05 to settle at S$30.10.
Over in Wall Street, the mood was sombre as stocks wrapped up Thursday’s session on a mostly downward trajectory. The rise in US Treasury bond yields dimmed hopes for a shift in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, contributing to the lacklustre performance.
The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped by 0.5% to 15,601.5, the S&P 500 saw a 0.2% decline to 5,011.12, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out a modest gain of 0.1% to close at 37,775.38.
Across the pond in Europe, shares found some buoyancy on Thursday fueled by robust earnings reports from industrial players. The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged up by 0.2% to finish the day at 499.7. /TISG
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