Singapore shares open lower on Monday; STI down 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks fell in early trade on Monday (Jun 13) morning after global markets ended the previous week in the red. 

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.7 per cent or 22.40 points to 3,159.33 as at 9.03 am. Losers outnumbered gainers 139 to 29 after 71.8 million securities worth S$93.9 million changed hands.

Mencast was the top traded counter by volume, gaining S$0.004 or 7 per cent to S$0.061 with some 7.3 million shares traded in the morning.

Other heavily traded securities include Yangzijiang Financial Holding , which lost 3 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.485 with 4.7 million shares traded, as well as Dyna-Mac Holdings , which remained flat at S$0.27 with 3.7 million shares traded.

Among index counters, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding also saw brisk trading with 2.2 million shares changing hands at the open. It lost S$0.025 or 2.5 per cent to S$0.965.  

The trio of local banks were all in the red in early trade. DBS was down 0.5 per cent or S$0.15 at S$29.98, UOB fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.18 to S$27.50, while OCBC shed 0.9 per cent or S$0.10 to reach S$11.51.

In the US, stocks sank on Friday after inflation exceeded expectations in a much-anticipated report that sets the stage for more monetary tightening.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.7 per cent or around 880 points to 31,392.79. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.9 per cent to 3,900.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 3.5 per cent to 11,340.02.

European stocks ended their worst week in a month after expectations of aggressive rate hikes stole the centre stage, driving risky assets lower.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 2.7 per cent on Friday, ending the week down around 4 per cent to 422.71.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo shares opened down on Monday, as global inflation worries escalated on fresh US data.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2.3 per cent or 636.29 points to 27,188.00 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 1.8 per cent or 34.75 points to 1,908.34.