Singapore shares opened higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rising 46.66 points, or 0.87%, to 5,416.23 as at 9.14am, supported by gains in banking stocks despite a mixed overnight performance on Wall Street.
The broader market remained positive, with advancers outnumbering decliners 130 to 64, while 70.98 million shares worth S$205.83 million changed hands in early trade.
Banking counters led the gains, with DBS rising 1.13% to S$69.88. OCBC Bank traded at S$27.38 while United Overseas Bank (UOB) stood at S$43.78. Singapore Exchange (SGX) was at S$24.30, Singapore Airlines gained to S$7.81 and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding traded at S$3.43.
The positive start came despite a weaker lead from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 fell 0.28% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.09% after US President Donald Trump declared that an interim deal to end the conflict with Iran was “over”, raising concerns over further military escalation in the Middle East.
The Nasdaq Composite bucked the broader weakness, edging up 0.20% as semiconductor stocks rallied after Apple announced plans to spend more than US$30 billion under a chip supply agreement with Broadcom. Nvidia also gained following reports that China may allow leading artificial intelligence companies to purchase a limited number of its H200 chips.
Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions pushed Brent crude oil prices up 5.2%, fuelling inflation concerns and reinforcing expectations that the US Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer after minutes from its June meeting highlighted persistent inflation risks.
On the derivatives market, trading volume stood at 28,110 contracts in early trade. The SGX MSCI Singapore Index Futures for July traded at 507.65, while the Nikkei 225 Index Futures for September stood at 68,110.
