Singapore stocks dip on Tuesday's open; STI down 0.8%

SINGAPORE stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street losses on Monday and following the release of 2020 economic data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Most economists continue to foresee a long and uneven recovery that will hinge on the Covid-19 vaccine's roll-out, despite Monday's advance estimates which showed that Singapore's 2020 contraction turned out slightly milder than expected at 5.8 per cent year on year, as opposed to the official forecast of a 6 to 6.5 per cent contraction.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.8 per cent or 21.4 points to 2,837.50 as at 9.01am.

Losers significantly outnumbered gainers 119 to 46 after 92.4 million securities worth S$70.4 million changed hands.

Shares in Sembcorp Marine were among the most actively traded on Tuesday morning, with 8.8 million shares changing hands as at 9.01am. The counter fell 2.6 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 14.8 cents.

Singtel was the top loser among index counters in early trade, falling 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.30.

Shares in Wilmar International were among the top five actively traded counters in terms of value. The agri-business group was down 1.7 per cent or S$0.08 at S$4.72 as at 9.01am.

All three local banks were down in early trade. DBS was trading 0.6 per cent or S$0.16 lower at S$25.18, UOB fell 1 per cent or S$0.23 to S$22.45, while OCBC declined 0.9 per cent or S$0.09 to S$10.01.

In the US, stocks stumbled on Monday in the first session of 2021 on worries over a slower recovery from Covid-19, as well as anxiety over the Georgia Senate runoffs as polls show Democrats and Republicans coming in neck and neck in both Senate races.

All three major US indices finished decisively lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.3 per cent at 30,223.89. The broad-based S&P shed 1.5 per cent to 3,700.65, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.5 per cent to 12,694.45.

Shares in Europe however rallied in the first trading session of the year on Monday, buoyed by a landmark Brexit trade deal and coronavirus vaccination campaigns across the continent which bolstered expectations of a strong economic rebound.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index gained 0.7 per cent to touch fresh February 2020 highs, with economically sensitive mining jumping more than 3 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday to echo Wall Street's jitters over key Senate runoff elections as well as the US's worsening public health situation. The bellwether Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.3 per cent or 92.73 points to 27,165.65 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 0.3 per cent to 1,789.91.