Singapore shares rise on Tuesday as Trump tariffs threat looms; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares began Tuesday (Feb 11) trading in positive territory with markets abroad ended Monday clocking wins as the threat of steel and aluminium tariffs promised by US President Donald Trump loomed. 

As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.3 per cent or 11.69 points at 3,886.82. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 72 to 32 after 50.1 million securities worth S$75.1 million changed hands.

Watch-listed Addvalue Tech was the most actively traded counter by volume. It was trading flat at S$0.01 with 4.9 million securities transacted. Other actively traded counters included multinational oil exploration and production Rex International which rose 3.9 per cent or S$0.007 to S$0.186 and Mapletree Industrial Trust which was down 2.4 per cent or S$0.05 at S$2.08. 

Local banking stocks were trading higher at open, with DBS leading wins one day after it hit an all-time high of S$46.50 after posting strong full-year earnings. Its counter advanced 0.6 per cent per cent or S$0.29 to S$45.67. OCBC was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 at S$17.41 and UOB rose 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$37.81. 

Wall Street stocks rose on Monday, with tech shares driving gains while markets anticipated the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports Trump cautioned. 

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led major indices as it advanced 1 per cent to 19,714.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4 per cent to 44,470.41 and the broad-based S&P 500 won 0.7 per cent to 6,066.44. 

Shares in Europe ended Monday at a record high, buoyed by energy stocks although steel stocks slumped, as markets weighed Trump’s incoming tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US. The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index advanced 0.6 per cent to close at 545.92.