SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Monday with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 4.21 points to 3,416.65 as at 9.08 am, following gains in US and European markets on Friday.
Top gainers in early morning trade included UOB, DBS and Singapore Exchange. Shares of Noble Group rose on heavy trading after the company said it will start legal proceedings following the third Iceberg report.
Some 86.7 million shares worth S$120.9 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 85 to 56.
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The dollar finished the week about 1.5% lower against the euro Friday, snapping three weeks of gains.
The bulk of the dollar’s losses occurred after Federal Reserve policy makers said that they expect to begin raising interest rates later in the year—and more gradually—than the market expected.
The euro EURUSD, +1.50% traded at $1.0821, compared with $1.0668 Thursday.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -1.28% a measure of the dollar’s strength against six rival currencies, finished the week down 2.4% at 97.6000.
Crude-oil futures rallied Friday as a drop in the U.S. dollar and another decline in U.S. rig counts helped prices score their first weekly gain in five weeks.
Traders also positioned themselves before the expiration of the April futures contracts.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April CLJ5, +4.34% which expired at the close Friday, settled at $45.72 a barrel, up $1.76, or 4%. Crude for May CLK5, +2.02% delivery, which became the front month, tacked on $1.04, or 2.3%, to $46.57 a barrel.
