SINGAPORE - Singapore shares opened higher on Wednesday (July 18), with the Straits Times Index up 17.23 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,256.87 as at 9.04 am as Asian stocks advanced after an upbeat assessment on the US economy from Fed chairman Jerome Powell.
About 63 million shares worth $110 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of $1.74 per share. Gainers outnumbered losers 67 to 38.
The most actively traded stock was Koufu, which debuted on the Singapore exchange at 9am, trading flat at $0.655 with 13.1 million shares changing hands.
Other actives included Sheng Siong and Golden-agri Resources.
Among active index stocks, Keppel Corp was $0.05 or 0.7 per cent up at $6.73, while OCBC Bank shares were up $0.11 or 1 per cent higher at $11.23 .
On Wall Street, The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent to close at 25,121.83 and the S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent to 2,810.07. Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 per cent to 7,855.12, about 30 points above the record set on July 13.
In regional markets, Japan's Topix index rose 0.8 per cent at 9.05am in Tokyo. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 per cent while South Korea's Kospi index was up 0.9 per cent.