SINGAPORE equities were pulled into positive territory on Tuesday (Aug 13) morning after news that the city state’s Q2 gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in at 2.9 per cent.
The second quarter’s GDP performance matched July’s advance estimate and was comparable to the previous quarter’s 3 per cent growth.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 12.2 points or 0.4 per cent to 3,247.58. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 80 to 35 after 60.6 million securities worth S$86.7 million changed hands.
Oil and gas plays were among the morning’s top traded counters by volume, with Rex International gaining S$0.007 or 7.5 per cent to S$0.101 after 4.1 million shares were traded.
RH Petrogas rose S$0.014 or 10.9 per cent to S$0.142 amid heavy trading as well.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped S$0.18 or 7.6 per cent to S$2.56 in early trade, the day after it posted a net profit of 3.1 billion yuan (S$553.7 million) for the six months ended Jun 30.
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Banking stocks were a sea of green at the open, as DBS gained S$0.07 or 0.2 per cent to S$34.05. UOB climbed S$0.10 or 0.3 per cent to S$29.39, and OCBC inched up S$0.05 or 0.4 per cent to trade at S$13.88.
US shares ended Monday mixed ahead of the release of US inflation data this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent to 39,357.01, while the broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 5,344.39. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to 16,780.61.
Over in Europe, stocks were subdued at Monday’s close amid lingering recession fears and a deluge of other European data.
The Stoxx 600 index closed nearly flat at 499.08.
