SINGAPORE shares began Monday (Jan 6) trading in positive territory as overseas markets closed a holiday-shortened week mixed with anticipation for the incoming Donald Trump administration.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.5 per cent or 17.3 points at 3,819.13. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 100 to 38 after 58.5 million securities worth S$74.4 million changed hands.
Precision engineering company GSS Energy was the most actively traded counter by volume. It fell 7.1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.013 with 6.8 million securities transacted.
Other actively traded counters included Thai Beverage, which decreased 0.9 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.565, and protective gear manufacturer Medtecs International, which rose 5.8 per cent or S$0.008 to S$0.146.
The three local banking stocks were trading up at the open. UOB rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.22 to S$36.80. OCBC climbed 0.8 per cent or S$0.13 to S$16.70 and DBS added 0.6 per cent or S$0.28 to S$43.90.
Wall Street stocks bounced back on Friday as the week brought expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts and easier regulatory policies under the incoming administration. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8 per cent to 42,732.13. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent to 5,942.47 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.8 per cent to 19,621.68.
European equities finished lower on Friday as luxury firms and spirit makers drove losses while focus stayed on potential US policy changes and the interest rate trajectory from a Trump presidency. The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index was down 0.5 per cent at 508.19.
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