Singapore stocks fall at Wednesday's open; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks edged lower in early trade on Wednesday (Nov 10), after Wall Street pulled back overnight and ended its streak of record-setting sessions.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 3.73 points to 3,239.69 as at 9.02 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 73 to 55 after 155.6 million securities worth S$76.2 million changed hands.

HGH Holding shares were among the most actively traded securities, with 36.6 million shares changing hands as at 9.02 am. The counter rose 9.4 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.035.

The company on Monday (Nov 8) night said it entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with AAEX on Nov 5 for a potential blockchain platform - which will integrate computing power services, financial services, circulation services and information services.

Shares of OKH Global were also heavily traded, down 3.5 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.028 as at 9.02 am.

Meanwhile, Hatten Land rose 3.2 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.064. The company on Wednesday said it is forming a joint venture with Bursa-listed Nestcon to secure, supply, construct, develop and manage solar panel facilities in Malaysia.

The trio of local banks were mixed on Wednesday morning. DBS was down 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$32.23 and UOB slipped 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$27.89, while OCBC climbed 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$11.93.

In the US, major US stock indices dropped at the close of trading on Tuesday (Nov 9), ending a streak of record-setting sessions as traders digested the latest sign of high US inflation.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent to finish at 36,319.98, and the broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.4 per cent to 4,685.25. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6 per cent to end the session at 15,886.54.

In Europe, shares retreated from record highs on Tuesday, although strong corporate earnings and hopes of a recovery kept losses limited as investors awaited fresh cues from economic data due this week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.2 per cent lower at 482.71 points, holding just below its record peak hit last week.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index opened lower on Wednesday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 per cent or 58.19 points to 29,227.27 in early trade, while the broader Topix index eased 0.01 per cent or 0.15 point at 2,018.62.