Singapore shares open lower on Friday

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Friday, as the wave of selling in Asian markets spread to Europe and the United States.

The Straits Times Index fell another 28.45 points to 2,701.46.

A depreciation in the yuan led to Chinese stock markets plunging on Thursday, leading to the second suspension of the Shanghai stock exchange in a week.

The most actively traded stocks in Singapore on Friday included Noble Group, which had its credit rating cut to junk status by Standard & Poor's on Thursday evening, as well as oil-related plays Keppel Corp, Rex International, Ezra Holdings and Sembcorp Industries.

Some 66.6 million shares worth S$87.2 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 98 to 30.