Singapore shares fall at open, tracking Wall Street retreat; STI down 1%

SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Thursday following overnight losses on Wall Street, as worries over resurgent coronavirus infections dampened investor optimism for economic recovery.

The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 1 per cent or 25.05 points to 2,603.57 as at 9.03am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 117 to 33, after 82.8 million securities worth S$97.7 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Singapore eDevelopment, which rose 6.5 per cent or 0.6 Singapore cent to 9.8 cents, with 28.7 million shares traded.

Other heavily traded counters include Yoma Strategic, which gained 5 per cent or 1.5 Singapore cents to 31.5 cents with 6.6 million shares changing hands, and Singtel, which dipped 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.52 on a cum-dividend basis, with 4.2 million shares traded.

Banking stocks declined in early trade. DBS dropped 1.6 per cent or S$0.33 to S$20.77, UOB lost 1.3 per cent or S$0.26 to S$20.37, while OCBC Bank fell 0.8 per cent or S$0.07 to S$8.97.

Other active index counters include Jardine Strategic Holdings, which edged up 0.1 per cent or US$0.01 to US$21.97, and Singapore Airlines, which fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$3.88.

In the US, stocks tumbled on Wednesday on increasing signs that a higher number of coronavirus cases in the country will slow economic recovery. Numerous western and southern states reported record coronavirus cases in recent days, prompting more local officials and private companies to freeze reopenings or retreat from prior steps to relaunch activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.7 per cent to 25,445.94, the S&P 500 slid 2.6 per cent to 3,050.33, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.2 per cent to 9,909.17, retreating from a record.

European stocks slumped to a one-week low on Wednesday following a surge in coronavirus cases and news that the US was weighing tariffs on European products. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 2.8 per cent lower, recording its second-worst fall this month.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 index declined 1.1 per cent to 22,295.37 in early trade, while the Topix index fell 1 per cent to 1,565.75.