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

SINGAPORE shares dipped slightly in early trade on Friday (Nov 19), after Wall Street wobbled to a mixed close overnight.

The Straits Times Index (STI) nudged down 0.1 per cent or 3.21 points to 3,233.81 as at 9.04 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 72 to 61, after 90.8 million securities worth S$50.7 million changed hands.

QT Vascular 5I0 was the top gainer in terms of volume, falling S$0.001 or 10 per cent to S$0.009 after 14.8 million shares were traded.

The medtech company had announced on Thursday (Nov 18) that Mission Well has withdrawn its requisitioning notices to hold 2 extraordinary general meetings on Dec 2 and Dec 15, without any explanation or reason.

Trans-China Automotive VI2 was also actively traded at the open, gaining S$0.015 or 5 per cent to S$0.315, with 5.6 million shares changing hands.

The car dealership group had made its trading debut at S$0.245 on the Singapore Exchange's Catalist board last Thursday, 6.5 per cent or S$0.015 above its initial public offering price of S$0.23.

Index counter Singtel Z74 was among the most actively traded counters on Friday morning, with 1.2 million shares traded. The counter dropped S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent to S$2.50.

The trio of local banks were a sea of red at the open. DBS was down S$0.07 or 0.2 per cent to S$32.40, UOB fell S$0.08 or 0.3 per cent to trade at S$27.56, while OCBC edged down S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent to S$11.80 as at 9.02 am.

Over on Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Thursday (Nov 18), with analysts pointing to lingering worries about inflation and supply chain problems as drags on the trading session.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to 4,704.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5 per cent to 15,993.71 - both overtaking previous records set on Nov 8.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial average was the only one to end lower, dropping 0.2 per cent to 35,870.95.

Meanwhile, European shares ended lower on Thursday, weighed by weakness in commodity-related stocks amid declining oil and metal prices, and breaking a record-breaking 6-day rally fuelled by strong earnings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.5 per cent lower at 487.70 points, its first fall in 7 sessions.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened flat on Friday in cautious trade after a mixed Wall Street close, with investors weighing the impact of fresh Japan stimulus to be announced later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.04 per cent at 29,610.96 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.02 per cent at 2,035.86.