Singapore shares open flat on Thursday

SINGAPORE shares opened flat on Thursday at 2,900.91 points, down 0.79 point or 0.03 per cent as US stocks lost ground overnight.

Some 33.4 million shares worth S$40.6 million changed hands with losers outnumbering gainers 60 to 34.

In a sign that investors were taking a step back from the Trump rally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.16 per cent on Wednesday to end at 19,941.96 points.

Buoyed by the pro-business stance of President-elect Donald Trump, the market was seen as cooling off as it waited for the delivery of his policies during his first 100 days in office.

Oil prices finished lower after the US Energy Information Administration released indications of an increase in the US crude inventory.

West Texas Intermediate futures for delivery in February fell 81 cents or 1.5 per cent to US$52.49. February Brent crude futures declined 89 cents or 1.6 per cent to US$54.46.