Singapore shares open higher on Wall Street's advance

Singapore shares open higher on Wall Street's advance - UPDATE

	Published : Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:45 By : Agencies Print this Story

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Singapore shares rose in early trade Monday as investors bought into select blue chips following Wall Street's gain on Friday, when better-than-expected US retail sales data showed signs of a firm US economy.

The US government reported that wholesale prices jumped in September amid an increase in food and energy costs.

'After the global market was hit with the US credit crisis, we have seen the US market rebound tremendously,' DMG & Partners Securities said in a client note.

'We expect to see our local market profit from the strong signs seen in the US market and expect to see volatility going forward.'

At 9.37 am (0137 GMT), the benchmark Straits Times Index was up 20.19 points or 0.5 percent at 3,877.44.

Gainers led losers 294 to 110 with 1,300 shares unchanged.

Trading volume stood at 498.2 million shares worth 396.6 million Singapore dollars.

Blue chip Singapore Press Holdings added 6 cents to 4.18 dollars after the media company reported its year to August net profit grew 18.1 percent to 506.2 million Singapore dollars, exceeding a market estimate of 469 million dollars.

Water utility company Hyflux extended gains, touching a two-year high in early trade on news it will list a business trust on the Singapore Exchange by the end of the year. The stock rose 6 cents to 3.56 dollars, off a high of 3.58 dollars.

South Korean dry bulk shipper STX Pan Ocean also continued to rise and hit another record high. The stock jumped 14 cents to 3.70 dollars, off a high of 3.74 dollars, on the strength of spot shipping rates tracked by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which is currently at record highs.

Telecommunications stocks were higher, with Singapore Telecommunications up 2 cents at 4.14 dollars, StarHub up 4 cents at 3.12 dollars and MobileOne up 5 cents at 2.16 dollars.

(1 US dollar = 1.46 Singapore dollars)

yuinmunn.szetoh@thomson.com

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Singapore shares open higher on Wall Street's advance - UPDATE