Singapore shares open lower on Friday against Wall Street gains; STI down 0.2% 

SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Friday (Aug 19) tracking inversely to the global market.  The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.2 per cent or 6.78 points to 3,266.7 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outweighed losers 62 to 47 after 35.2 million securities worth S$46.5 million shares changed hands.

Marco Polo Marine was the most actively traded counter in the morning with 14.2 million shares transacted. The counter rose 6.5 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.033. Among index counters, Sembcorp Marine rose S$0.002 or 1.8 per cent to S$0.112 after 6.5 million shares were traded.

The trio of local banks traded mixed at Friday’s open. UOB traded higher S$0.03 or 0.1 per cent to S$27.03, DBS slid S$0.11 or 0.3 per cent to S$32.33, OCBC lost S$0.06 or 0.5 per cent to S$12.33. 

Over in the US, Wall Street stocks finished higher on Thursday after a choppy session as investors weighed prospects for further upward movement following mixed earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1 per cent at 33,999.04. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to close at 4,283.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite Index also advanced 0.2 per cent to 12,065.34.

European shares rose on Thursday with a boost from oil stocks, but lagged other major markets as eurozone inflation reached a record high in July and European Central Bank officials hinted at another large rate hike next month.

SEE ALSO

Marco Polo Marine Q3 revenue up 140% on shipyard, ship chartering growth

Stocks to watch: SingPost, OCBC, Marco Polo Marine

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The continent-wide Stoxx 600 ended 0.4 per cent higher, lifted by a 1.7 per cent gain for energy stocks after crude futures rose more than US$1. Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday as investors searched for new cues ahead of next week’s annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6 per cent, or 167.65 points, to 29,109.79 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.5 per cent, or 9.78 points, to 2,000.28.