Singapore shares open lower on slower pre-Christmas trade

SINGAPORE shares on Friday opened 13.69 points, or 0.48 per cent, down at 2,868.35 as trade slowed ahead of the Christmas weekend.

Some 25 million shares worth S$27 million changed hands with losers outnumbering gainers 53 to 37.

Wall Street lost steam in a thinly traded pre-holiday session as the Trump rally cooled off.

Expectations of President-elect Donald Trump delivering pro-business policies as promised during his campaign supported the US stock rally in recent days. But investors appeared to have pulled back on Thursday as the major stock indices neared all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 23.08 points or 0.1 per cent lower at 19,918.88.

Oil prices were up on Thursday on positive US economic data. The US economy expanded 3.5 per cent in the third quarter, the best in two years. An increase in new orders for US-made capital goods in November also beat market expectations.