SINGAPORE shares opened higher Thursday (Nov 28), while stocks in Asia traded in a narrow range as traders took to the sidelines ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday.
As at 12 pm, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.2 per cent or 6.69 points at 3,714.78. Across the broader market, gainers lagged losers 187 to 197 after 430.8 million securities worth S$373.5 million changed hands.
ThaiBev was among the stocks that were heavily traded, rising S$0.005 or 0.9 per cent at S$0.555.
Shares of engineering company PEC jumped around 10 per cent on the back of news of a possible share deal. The company said in a bourse filing on Wednesday (Nov 27) that it had been approached by a third party “on a possible transaction” in relation to its shares.
All three banking stocks were mixed by the midday break, after an inflation data gauge preferred by the US Federal Reserve showed inflation rose. This backed the central bank’s cautious approach to cutting interest rates. DBS was last at S$41.85, while OCBC was up S$0.05 or 0.3 per cent at S$16.13. UOB dipped S$0.10 or 0.3 per cent to S$36.23.
The market moves come amid positive data released in Singapore. Real incomes in Singapore made a rebound in 2024 as inflation eased, recovering from the previous year’s decline, a Ministry of Manpower report on Thursday showed.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore in a report on Wednesday said that Singapore’s banks and insurers have sufficient capital and liquidity buffers to withstand potential downside risks arising from severe macrofinancial stresses.
OCBC said in a Thursday report: “The economy had performed better for the year-to-date in 2024, registering growth of 3 per cent in H1 24. The external-facing industries, particularly electronics and manufacturing, initially grappled with weak global demand and lingering geopolitical tensions. On the other hand, domestic-oriented sectors fared better, supported by healthy inflows of visitor arrivals.”
It added that a healthy domestic labour market in turn meant resilient private consumption.
Elsewhere, Wall Street declined on Wednesday, retreating from records after inflation data showed an uptick in consumer prices. Following three straight closing peaks for the Dow and Tuesday’s record for the S&P 500, both dropped along with the Nasdaq in the final full trading session of the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 per cent to 44,722.06. The broad-based S&P 500 was down 0.4 per cent at 5,998.74, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.6 per cent to 19,060.48.
In Europe, equities fell as concerns mounted around the French government’s ability to push through its budget plan. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.2 per cent at 504.96 points by the close while the French blue chips index CAC 40 lost 0.7 per cent.
