Singapore shares open lower on Friday

SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Friday, with the Straits Times Index retreating 1.82 points, or 0.1 per cent to 3,499.34 as at 9.02am.

This was despite Wall Street closing at a record high overnight, with the Dow ending above 25,000 for the first time. The rally came amid optimism on the health of the US economy as US private-sector hiring data exceeded expectations last month.

On the Singapore bourse, about 48.5 million shares worth S$61.9 million in total changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 79 to 46.

The most actively traded counter was Rowsley, which rose 0.1 Singapore cent to 13.2 Singapore cents with 6.2 million shares changing hands.

Other active stocks included UOB which was down 0.59 per cent, or 16 Singapore cents to S$26.86; and Hongkong Land Holdings which was up 0.56 per cent, or four Singapore cents to S$7.14.