Singapore stocks open lower on Monday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Monday, in line with negative leads from the Dow and S&P last Friday.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) dropped 0.1 per cent or 3.12 points to 3,134.54 as at 9.02am. Gainers outnumbered losers 64 to 53, after 68.5 million securities worth S$43.5 million changed hands.

Property group OKH Global's shares were among the most actively traded securities on Monday morning, with 36.6 million shares changing hands within the first two minutes of market open. The counter jumped 21.1 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 2.3 cents.

Construction firm Ley Choon Group followed behind, with 14.8 million shares traded as at 9.02am. The counter rose 20 per cent or 0.3 Singapore cent to 1.8 cents.

Among index counters, Dairy Farm International was the top gainer in early trading, rising 0.9 per cent or US$0.04 to US$4.48 as at 9.07am. Meanwhile, Jardine Matheson Holdings fell 0.9 per cent or US$0.54 to US$66.66, making it the top loser.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trading on Monday morning. DBS and UOB both rose, with the former up 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$28.59, and the latter by 0.5 per cent or S$0.13 to S$25.70. However, OCBC slipped 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.60 as at 9.07am.

Over on Wall Street, sentiment was cautious last Friday after the Federal Reserve decided to tighten capital requirements for banks. Fears over the rise in bond yields led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close 0.7 per cent lower at 32,627.97. The broad-based S&P 500 also ended lower by 0.1 per cent at 3,913.10. However, investors bought up beaten-down tech stocks, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index closing 0.8 per cent higher at 13,215.24.

Meanwhile, European stocks ended lower on Friday, after France imposed fresh regional lockdowns to curb the spread of Covid-19. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.8 per cent, with banking stocks leading sectoral declines.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday, tracking falls on key US indices, as investors weighed risks linked to bond yields and upcoming comments from central bank officials this week.