Singapore stocks open higher on Tuesday; STI jumps 0.9%

SINGAPORE shares rose at Tuesday’s (Dec 3) open, after a positive lead from Wall Street spurred gains in the broader Asian region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 32.92 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 3,784.27 as at 9.01 am in Singapore. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 116 to 34, as 63.2 million shares worth S$155.4 million changed hands.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the most heavily traded stock, with 11.7 million shares being transacted. The maritime vessel maker announced on Monday it had secured another US$2.6 billion in shipbuilding contracts, taking its order wins to US$14.3 billion so far this year. These exceed its target of US$4.5 billion for the 2024 financial year. The counter jumped 7.4 per cent or S$0.18 to S$2.61.

Also actively traded is Seatrium, which gained 1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.97.

The trio of banking stocks rose as well. DBS was nearly 1 per cent or S$0.41 higher at S$42.96, while OCBC climbed 0.7 per cent or S$0.11 to S$16.31. UOB also in the green, rising 1.2 per cent or S$0.45 to S$36.85.

Overnight, US equities kicked off December on a robust note, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the only major Wall Street index to fall on Monday, dipping 0.3 per cent to end at 44,782. The broad-based S&P 500 edged 0.2 per cent higher to close at a record 6,047.15, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1 per cent to an all-time high of 19,403.95.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7 per cent to 513.61 points, and closed at a near one-month peak. Germany’s DAX settled at a record high as investors anticipated the euro’s 0.8 per cent slide to benefit exporters.