Singapore stocks open lower on Thursday, tracking Wall Street slide; STI down 0.7%

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.7 per cent or 21.74 points to 3,109.70 as at 9.03am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 109 to 35, with 60.7 million securities worth S$87.2 million changing hands.

The most active counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine, with 18.3 million shares worth S$2 million traded as at 9.03am. Its shares were up 0.3 Singapore cent or 2.8 per cent at 11.1 cents.

Among index stocks, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Genting Singapore saw brisk trading in the morning. The shipbuilder had 3.8 million shares worth S$5.5 million changing hands, and was down S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent at S$1.44. Meanwhile, the hospitality and integrated resorts group saw 2.5 million shares worth S$2 million traded, and was down S$0.05 or 0.6 per cent at S$0.81.

Banking stocks were down in early trade. DBS fell S$0.22 or 0.7 per cent to S$30.20, UOB lost S$0.24 or 0.9 per cent to S$25.84, while OCBC dropped S$0.03 or 0.3 per cent to S$11.75.

In the US, Wall Street stocks finished solidly lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, following Federal Reserve meeting minutes that signalled a likely pullback on stimulus measures later this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 1.1 per cent at 34,960.69, the broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent to 4,400.27, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.9 per cent to 14,525.91.

Meanwhile, European stocks held steady on Wednesday as investors favoured utilities and healthcare counters over economically sensitive sectors on rising concerns about a spike in Covid-19 infections globally. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index inched up just 0.1 per cent, with automakers and miners the biggest drags.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday after the Fed's July meeting minutes hinted that the central bank may scale back stimulus this year, potentially affecting sentiment on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.7 per cent or 204.86 points to 27,381, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.7 per cent or 13.05 points to 1,910.92.