Singapore shares open lower on Wednesday

SINGAPORE share prices opened 0.05 per cent lower on Wednesday with the Straits Times Index down 1.52 points to 3,203.27 at 9.06am.

The highest value traded stocks were DBS (down eight cents to S$20.52), OCBC Bank (up five cents to S$10.46), and Singtel (flat at S$3.75) as at 9.05am.

Overall, 167 million shares worth S$244.6 million changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 86 to 62.

In Tokyo, shares opened lower on Wednesday as a firm yen weighed on exporters and Wall Street, and crude prices slipped. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.25 per cent, or 49.60 points, to 19,628.25 in early trade while the Topix index of all first-section issues lost 0.28 per cent, or 4.33 points, to 1,568.34.

On Wall Street, US stocks inched lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 retreating slightly from a record, as weakness in the energy and financial sectors outweighed gains in technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.81 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 21,029.47, the S&P 500 lost 2.91 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2,412.91 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.01 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 6,203.19.