SG Morning Highlights: Stocks advance at Wednesday's open; STI up 0.5%

Singapore shares opened stronger on Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
$FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ was up by 14.41 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,103.90 as at 9.01am.
Gainers outnumbered losers 92 to 34, with 68.3 million securities worth S$55.4 million changing hands.

$Oceanus (579.SG)$ was the most active counter by volume at the open. With 12.4 million of its shares worth S$0.5 million traded, the seafood supplier remained unchanged at 3.9 Singapore cents.

$Seatrium (S51.SG)$ also saw brisk trading, losing 0.1 Singapore cent or 0.8 per cent to 13 cents, after 3.1 million securities changed hands in the morning. On Tuesday, the group said it is to install an additional 4.0 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar energy across seven rooftops at its Tuas Boulevard Yard.

Among index counters, $ThaiBev (Y92.SG)$ was the most actively traded, with two million shares worth S$1.4 million changing hands. This resulted in ThaiBev inching up half a Singapore cent or 0.8 per cent to 67.5 cents in early trade.

$IREIT Global SGD (UD1U.SG)$ : The Europe-focused real estate investment trust on Wednesday morning said it is issuing 11.4 million units for 61.55 Singapore cents per unit, as part of an equity fundraising to raise gross proceeds of S$126.7 million to fund its acquisition of retail properties in France. Units of IReit Global closed on Tuesday at 64.5 Singapore cents, up 0.5 cent or 0.8 per cent.

$Oxley (5UX.SG)$ : Its wholly-owned subsidiary has entered into an agreement to sell a piece of its land overseas for around S$100 million, the property developer said on Wednesday morning. Oxley did not specify which property it was selling, nor the buyer. Shares of the group closed on Tuesday at 23 Singapore cents, down 0.5 cent or 2.1 per cent.

$Suntec Reit (T82U.SG)$ : It is divesting a portfolio of strata units at Suntec City Office for S$197 million and acquiring a Grade-A office building in London for £353 million (S$667.2 million), the Reit manager ARA Trust Management (Suntec) said on Tuesday. Following the transaction, Suntec Reit's assets under management will grow from S$11.5 billion to S$11.7 billion across 10 properties in Singapore, Australia and the UK. Units of the Reit ended unchanged at S$1.46 on Tuesday, before the announcement.

$UOB (U11.SG)$ : The bank has lost a long-running legal tussle against developer Lippo Marina Collection (LMC), with the Singapore High Court to get higher housing loans. UOB said it will be appealing the court's decision. It is seeking to recover about S$181 million disbursed to purchase 38 units at Marina Collection. Prior to the news on Tuesday evening, shares of UOB closed S$0.37 or 1.4 per cent lower at S$25.38.

Sembcorp Marine R: The marine and offshore engineering group on Tuesday said it is partnering grid operator SP Group to install an additional 4.0 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar energy across seven rooftops at its Tuas Boulevard Yard. The system can likely reduce the yard's annual carbon emissions by more than 4,200 tonnes and result in significant utilities savings, it added. Sembmarine shares closed 0.2 Singapore cent or 1.5 per cent lower at 13.1 cents on Tuesday, after the news.

Trading halt: Catalist-listed $OxPay Financial (TVV.SG)$ on Wednesday morning requested a trading halt, pending the release of the results of its extraordinary general meeting held later in the day at 2.30pm.