Singapore shares open down on Monday; STI falls 51.03 points

SINGAPORE stocks opened 1.4 per cent lower on Monday, in line with tumbling Asian stocks, with the Straits Times Index shedding 51.03 points to 3,478.79 as at 9.03am.

About 252.6 million shares worth S$198.7 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$0.79 per share.

The most actively traded counter was APAC Strategic, which was flat at 0.3 Singapore cent with 28.2 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Midas and Marco Polo Marine.

Losers far outnumbered gainers 277 to 12, or about 23 down for every one up.

Asian markets fell on Monday as fears of resurgent inflation battered bonds, toppled Wall Street from record highs and sparked speculation central banks globally might be forced to tighten more aggressively, Reuters reported.

Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan said on Friday that the Federal Reserve may need to lift interest rates more than three times this year.

Japan's Nikkei slid 2.2 per cent, while Australia's main index eased 1.3 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.8 per cent for its third straight session of losses.

Investors were spooked by Friday's US payrolls report which showed wages growing at their fastest pace in more than 8-1/2 years, which fuelled inflation expectations.