Singapore shares start the week lower amid global rout; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Monday (Sep 26) amid a global selloff as the rising risk of a recession due to interest rate hikes loomed.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.3 per cent or 8.57 points to 3,218.53 as at 9.05 am. Losers outnumbered gainers 110 to 37, or about 3 securities down for every 1 up, after 88.1 million securities worth S$110.4 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , which dropped 4.8 per cent, or S$0.06 to S$1.18 with 6.8 million shares changing hands. The group on Friday responded to queries over “unusual price movements” after its share price surged that afternoon.

It said trading activity could be linked to 2 media reports in connection to its Sep 8 announcement about its entry into a technical assistance and licence agreement with France-based Gaztransport & Technigaz.

Other heavily traded securities on the Singapore bourse included Yangzijiang Financial , which was down 1.3 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.395, with 6.4 million shares traded, as well as Sembcorp Marine , which lost 0.9 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.112, with 4.5 million shares traded.

Banking stocks fell in early morning trade. DBS was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.11 lower at S$33.29, UOB dropped 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$27, while OCBC slid 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$12.02.

Other active index counters included Singtel , which rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.66, and Singapore Airlines , which was down 0.6 per cent or S$0.03 to S$5.25.

In the US, stocks closed decisively lower on Friday, falling for the fourth straight session as markets reacted to the rising risk of a recession due to interest rate hikes.

All 3 major indices dropped more than 1.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.6 per cent to 29,590.41, its lowest closing value since November 2020. Meanwhile, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.7 per cent to 3,693.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 1.8 per cent to 10,867.93.

SEE ALSO

Stocks to watch: mm2 Asia, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Stamford Land, LHN, Shanghai Turbo

In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index tumbled 2.3 per cent, taking weekly losses to 4.4 per cent - its worst week since mid-June.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.4 per cent to 26,761.46 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 1.3 per cent to 1,890.46.