SINGAPORE shares climbed at the opening bell on Wednesday (Mar 6) morning, despite overnight losses in global markets.
The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent or 9.84 points to 3,116.94 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 73 to 49 after 53.4 million securities worth S$51.8 million changed hands.
Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It rose 1.1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.09 after 17.8 million securities were transacted.
Other companies that were briskly traded included Thai Beverage, which gained 2 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.505, as well as mm2 Asia which rose 5 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.021.
Banking stocks all rose in early morning trade. DBS climbed 0.3 per cent or S$0.11 to S$33.51. OCBC inched up 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$13.02, and UOB also gained 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$28.20.
Over on Wall Street, indices ended in a slump on Tuesday as key tech stocks lost ground and traders await remarks by the central bank chair later in the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.7 per cent to 15,939.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1 per cent to 38,585.19, and the broad-based S&P 500 stumbled 1 per cent as well, to 5,078.65.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 dipped on Tuesday after mining shares weakened, while investors awaited this week’s eurozone and United States economic data and a European Central Bank policy decision. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.2 per cent to 496.27, a day after hitting an all-time high.
