Singapore stocks rise at Monday's open; STI up 1.1%

SINGAPORE shares rose in early trade on Monday, on the back of last Friday's gains on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.1 per cent or 34.23 points to 3,085.34 as at 9.05am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 154 to 35, after 121.3 million securities worth S$130.2 million changed hands.

Blumont was the most actively traded counter by volume on Monday morning, with 30.6 million shares changing hands as at 9.05am. Its share price tumbled 20 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 0.4 cents.

Among index counters, ST Engineering was the top gainer on Monday morning, rising 3.7 per cent or S$0.14 to S$3.92 as at 9.05am. This comes after the group's announcement on Sunday that it would fork out US$2.68 billion in cash to buy two US-based companies that provide technical solutions and engineering services to the transportation industry.

Singtel was also among the top five actively traded counters in terms of volume. It was up 1.7 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.47 as at 9.05am. Last Friday, the telco announced a conditional agreement to sell a 70 per cent stake in Australia Tower Network and form a regional data centre platform with partners in South-east Asia.

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The trio of local banks were all higher in early trade. DBS was up 0.8 per cent or S$0.25 to S$30.22, UOB rose 0.9 per cent or S$0.23 to S$25.86, while OCBC advanced 1.2 per cent or S$0.14 to S$11.51 as at 9.05am.

In the US, stocks closed higher on Friday, ending the first trading session of the fourth quarter with strong gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 1.4 per cent higher at 34,326.46, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent to 4,357.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8 per cent to 14,566.70.

European shares fell on Friday to end at their lowest in two months, as warnings from companies and factory activity data highlighted inflation worries arising from supply-chain constraints and elevated prices.

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.4 per cent in a weak start to October, with technology, miners and banks leading broad declines. The index ended the week with a loss of 2.2 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday, following gains on Wall Street. Investors also shifted their focus to the unveiling of Japan's new cabinet later in the day. The Nikkei 225 index jumped 0.9 per cent or 253.80 points to 29,024.87 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 1 per cent or 20.38 points to 2,006.69.