Singapore shares open lower on Thursday

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Thursday, with the Straits Times Index shedding 21.78 points to 2,782.49, after the US and European markets weakened on fresh concerns over China's growth.

Sembcorp Industries, Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Corporation were among the most active stocks. All fell following a downgrade by Macquarie Group as it deems the offshore and marine sector to face "immense pressure".

Silverlake Axis was the lone top-20 stock that opened higher, as it cleared itself of allegations by an anonymous short-selling report with a third-party review.

Some 69.1 million shares worth S$129.5 million were traded as at 9.05am. Losers outnumbered gainers 88 to 39.