Singapore shares open 17.44 points lower on Monday

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Monday with the key Straits Times Index down 17.44 points to 2,717.95 as at 9.06am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 122 to 49, with 77.1 million shares worth S$70.4 million changing hands.

Investors are bracing themselves for uncertain global markets this week after the UK voted to leave the European Union. The shocking development had sent markets reeling in panic last week with continued volatility expected in the days ahead.

"This is an exogenous shock to the global economy which is already late in exogenous shock. No doubt economists will be looking for GDP downgrades," said Maybank Kim Eng in a Singapore strategy report issued on Monday.

Wall Street equity indices saw sharp losses last Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 3.4 per cent, the S&P 500 losing 3.6 per cent and Nasdaq shedding 4 per cent.