SINGAPORE equities climbed on Thursday (Mar 14) morning, despite the global market closing mixed overnight.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 8.96 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,169.68. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 56 to 44 after 44.3 million securities worth S$67.8 million changed hands.
Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It climbed 1.1 per cent to S$0.095 after 16.4 million securities were transacted.
Other companies that were briskly transacted included Singtel which declined S$0.04 or 1.6 per cent to S$2.44, and Oceanus which traded flat at S$0.008.
Banking stocks were up in early trade. DBS climbed S$0.36 or 1.1 per cent to S$34.29. OCBC advanced S$0.05 or 0.4 per cent to S$13.28, and UOB inched up S$0.14 or 0.5 per cent to S$28.74.
Over on Wall Street, stocks largely fell on Wednesday with the broad-based S&P 500 slipping from a record by 0.2 per cent to 5,165.3. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.5 per cent to 16,177.77, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average secured a gain of 0.1 per cent to 39,043.32.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 reached a new record high on Wednesday, supported by positive corporate updates from the retail and utilities sectors. It closed 0.2 per cent higher at 507.33.