SINGAPORE stocks rose on Friday (Feb 16) morning, after data from Enterprise Singapore showed that the country’s key exports jumped 16.8 per cent year on year in January, lifted by a surge in the shipment of non-monetary gold.
Non-oil domestic exports in January improved from the 1.5 per cent year-on-year dip in December. Non-electronic exports surged 21.2 per cent year on year, mainly from a whopping 198.7 per cent jump in non-monetary gold shipments.
The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.5 per cent or 16.56 points to 3,193.25 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 81 to 25, with 135.4 million securities worth S$77.2 million having changed hands.
Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. About 34.1 million of its securities were transacted, but it traded flat at S$0.086.
Other companies that were briskly traded included Genting Singapore, which rose 1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.05, as well as ESR-Logos Reit, which gained 1.6 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.325.
The stocks of the Big Three banks rose in early morning trade. DBS gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.18 to S$33.51. OCBC gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.07 to S$13.19, and UOB climbed 0.8 per cent or S$0.22 to S$28.98.
Over on Wall Street, stocks rose on Thursday after investor bullishness offset weak retail sales data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.9 per cent at 38,773.12. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 5,029.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 per cent at 15,906.17.
In Europe, shares rose on Thursday as strong corporate earnings pushed French and German stocks to a record high, while investors assessed comments by the European Central Bank on the disinflation process in the eurozone. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.7 per cent at 488.54, marking an over-two-year high.
