Singapore stocks saw little change on Monday morning—STI edged up 0.03%

SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks saw little change on Monday morning, with global markets showing mixed performance as trading volumes remained light with the New Year holiday approaching.

The Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.03%, or 1.22 points, to 3,772.85 at 9:03 am, as reported by The Business Times. In the broader market, 56 stocks gained while 46 declined, with 51.2 million securities valued at S$42.5 million traded.

Biolidics led in trading volume, rising 6.9%, or S$0.002, to S$0.031, with 4.6 million shares traded. Other active counters were Genting Singapore, which retreated 1.3%, or S$0.01, to S$0.755, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which increased 0.3%, or S$0.01, to S$2.94.

Local banks showed mixed results at the open. UOB dipped 0.03%, or S$0.01, to S$36.01, while DBS fell 0.1%, or S$0.03, to S$43.52. Meanwhile, OCBC edged up 0.1%, or S$0.01, to S$16.53.

Asian stocks fell slightly on Monday as high treasury yields challenged Wall Street valuations and boosted the US dollar. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japan, dropped 0.2% but remains 16% higher for the year. Japan’s Nikkei also slipped 0.2% but is still up 20% in 2024.

South Korea’s main index declined 0.4% and is down more than 9% for the year, weighed by recent political uncertainty after Acting President Choi Sang-mok took office two days ago.

Wall Street ended the previous week with losses as major companies saw declines during the holiday period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 42,992.21, the S&P 500 retreated 1.1% to 5,970.84, and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.5% to 19,722.03.

In Europe, most markets closed higher on Friday. Germany’s DAX increased 0.7%, France’s CAC 40 gained 1%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 also rose 0.7%, reaching its highest level in a week and gaining about 1% over the week.

Trading volumes were lower than usual as some markets remained closed. It also marked its first weekly increase in three weeks, helped by gains in healthcare and financial stocks. /TISG

Read also: Singapore stocks rose as trading began on Friday morning—STI increased 0.6%

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