SINGAPORE shares started trading in positive territory on Tuesday (Aug 20), mirroring overnight gains in the global markets.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) opened 0.1 per cent or 4.32 points higher at 3,359.88. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 81 to 24 after 46 million securities worth S$48.4 million changed hands.
One of the most actively traded counters by volume was Soilbuild Construction, which gained 6.1 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.087, with 6.4 million shares changing hands.
Other heavily traded securities included Mapletree Logistics Trust, which rose 1.6 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.31. Shares of Top Glove also climbed 1.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.305.
Banking stocks were trading up at the open. DBS rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.12 to S$35.74. UOB increased 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$30.77. OCBC inched up 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$14.30.
Wall street stocks ended higher on Monday as markets await earnings from US retailers and central bank commentary. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6 per cent at 40,896.53.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to 5,608.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 per cent to 17,876.77.
In Europe, shares climbed as retail and basic resources stocks gained, while investors anticipate US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech for clues on potential rate cuts. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.6 per cent higher at 514.59.
