Singapore shares open little changed on Monday; STI up 0.01%

SINGAPORE shares started the week almost flat, with the Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 0.01 per cent or 0.27 point to 3,071.50 as at 9.04am on Monday.

Losers outnumbered gainers 79 to 65, after 94.5 million securities worth S$55.5 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Medi Lifestyle 5TN , which saw 21.8 million of its shares worth S$860,000 traded as at 9.04am. Its shares gained 0.6 Singapore cent or 17.7 per cent to four cents.

Hatten Land PH0 was also actively traded, with five million shares worth S$350,000 changing hands. Its shares shed 0.5 cent or 6.9 per cent to 6.8 cents.

The property developer on Friday said it has yet to receive a US$60 million payment for the sale of its Malaysian unit Gold Mart, a transaction that was approved by shareholders in November last year.

Newly-minted CapitaLandInvest 9CI also saw brisk trading, with 3.2 million shares worth about S$9.6 million changing hands. Its shares were flat at S$3.01.

The real estate investment manager made its debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday with CapitaLandInvest as its trading name. It takes over from CapitaLand Limited, which on Sept 9 ceased trading at S$4 and will delist from the SGX on Tuesday, 9am.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. DBS D05 fell S$0.12 or 0.4 per cent to S$30.13, UOB U11 lost S$0.14 or 0.5 per cent to S$25.62, while OCBC O39 was flat at S$11.63.

In the US, stocks ended sharply lower in a broad sell-off on Friday, ending a week buffeted by strong economic data, corporate tax hike worries, the Delta Covid-19 variant, and possible shifts in the US Federal Reserve's timeline for tapering asset purchases.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 166.44 points or 0.5 per cent to 34,584.88; the S&P 500 lost 40.76 points or 0.9 per cent at 4,432.99; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 137.96 points or 0.9 per cent to 15,043.97.

Meanwhile in Europe, stocks fell on Friday, capping their third straight week in the red as the basic resources sector was hit by declines in Anglo American, but news that Britain was mulling easing travel restrictions boosted airlines and hotel groups.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.9 per cent on the day. Anglo American had tumbled 8.1 per cent after Morgan Stanley and UBS downgraded the stock.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Japanese stock and financial markets are closed on Monday, Sept 20. Trading will resume on Tuesday, Sept 21.