Singapore shares pare previous day's gains; STI down 0.2% at open

SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Wednesday following overnight losses in the US and the release of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) half-year report.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.2 per cent or 5.6 points to 2,557.35 as at 9.03am on Wednesday, reversing its previous uptrend from Monday and Tuesday.

In Tuesday's Macroeconomic Review, MAS said Singapore's gross domestic product is likely to contract more sharply in the second quarter than in the first, given the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic abroad and strict measures at home. The central bank also expects layoffs and unemployment to rise this year in spite of a massive fiscal shot in the arm.

The Singapore bourse saw gainers outnumber losers 67 to 48 on Wednesday morning, after 63.8 million securities worth S$59 million changed hands.

One of the most active counters by volume was iX Biopharma, which climbed 16.3 per cent or four Singapore cents to 28.5 Singapore cents with 6.2 million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included AEM Holdings which rose 3.7 per cent or S$0.08 to S$2.26 with 3.7 million shares traded, as well as Rex International which increased 3.9 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 10.8 Singapore cents, with 3.7 million shares traded.

Banking stocks were mixed in early morning trade. DBS dropped 0.6 per cent or S$0.11 to S$18.96 on a cum-dividend basis. UOB fell 0.8 per cent or S$0.15 to S$19.70, while OCBC Bank rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$8.86 on a cum-dividend basis.

Other active index counters included Ascendas Reit which was flat at S$2.86 and Mapletree Commercial Trust which held steady at S$1.87.

In the US, stocks finished lower on Tuesday amid mixed earnings reports and weak consumer data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1 per cent at 24,101.55. The S&P 500 lost 0.5 per cent to 2,863.39, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.4 per cent to 8,607.73.

European shares meanwhile ended at seven-week highs on Tuesday with further optimism that several economies were starting to ease novel coronavirus-driven lockdowns. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 1.7 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's financial markets are closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.