Singapore shares open flat on Wednesday

SINGAPORE stocks opened flat on Wednesday, with the Straits Times Index dropping 0.63 point to 3,337.57 as at 9am, despite US stock gains overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a fifth straight record high on Tuesday and neared the 22,000 mark, powered by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other banks. Likewise, Apple Inc on Tuesday delivered strong fiscal third-quarter earnings. The iPhone maker signalled that its upcoming 10th anniversary phone lineup is on schedule, driving the stock up 6 per cent to an all-time high in after-hours trading overnight.

About 62.5 million shares worth S$94.2 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$1.51 per share.

The most actively traded counter was investment holding company JEP, which was flat at S$0.032 with 3.6 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Accrelist and Sheng Siong.

Gainers outnumbered losers 63 to 45, or about seven up for every five down.

Elsewhere, Japan's Topix gained 0.3 per cent while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3 per cent. South Korea's Kospi index added 0.2 per cent and futures on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index were flat, Bloomberg reported.