SINGAPORE stocks began Wednesday (Oct 16) trading in positive territory, despite overnight losses in markets abroad.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 7.84 points to 3,603.31. Across the broader market, gainers and losers stood equal at 54 after 53.8 million securities worth S$59.3 million changed hands.
Food and beverage group LifeBrandz was the most actively traded counter by volume. It traded flat at S$0.003 with 24.4 million securities changing hands.
Other actively traded counters included ThaiBev which increased 2.8 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.545 and offshore oil-and-gas contractor Dyna-Mac which decreased 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.65.
Banking stocks were trading up at open. DBS was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 at S$39.46, while OCBC rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.07 to S$15.21 and UOB climbed 0.5 per cent or S$0.16 to S$32.52.
Wall Street stocks were lower on Tuesday tracking a fall in chipmaker shares on news of possible export curbs by the United States and as investors assessed earnings reports.
Declining 0.8 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 42,740.42 and the broad-based S&P 500 dropped to 5,815.26. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1 per cent to 18,315.59.
European shares saw their greatest one-day drop in more than two weeks, weighed by tech stocks as leaked third quarter results of chip equipment maker ASML forecasted dismal annual sales.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.8 per cent lower at 520.57.
