Singapore stocks open lower on Wednesday; STI down 0.2%

SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Wednesday, following Wall Street's weak lead overnight.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell by 0.2 per cent or 5.1 points to 3,126.64 as at 9.02am. Decliners outnumbered advancers 71 to 67 after 56.5 million securities worth S$133.7 million changed hands.

Wilton Resources led the day with 8.4 million shares changing hands within the first six minutes. The counter rose 3.1 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 3.3 cents.

Paper product maker Nippecraft's shares were also among the most actively traded securities on Wednesday morning, with 6.6 million shares traded as at 9.06am. The counter rose 16.3 per cent or 0.7 Singapore cent to five cents.

Among index counters, Venture Corp was the top gainer, rising 0.9 per cent or S$0.18 to S$20.24 as at 9.11am. Meanwhile Singapore Airlines fell 2 per cent or S$0.11 to S$5.53, making it the top loser.

The trio of local lenders were down in early trade. DBS fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.07 to S$28.13, OCBC shed 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.60, while UOB slipped 0.2 per cent or S$0.04 to S$25.44 as at 9.05am.

Over on Wall Street, equities sold off on Tuesday's close as trader enthusiasm for a recovering economy was overtaken by fears of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.9 per cent lower at 32,423.15, the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.8 per cent to finish at 3,910.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.1 per cent to end at 13,227.70.

European stocks also eased from a one-year peak, closing lower as a new wave of coronavirus infection and a fresh lockdown in Germany raised fears of a slow economic recovery from the pandemic. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.2 per cent after a new round of sanctions aimed at China hit Asian markets.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday tracking falls on Wall Street as oil prices tumbled with investors also disheartened by rising Covid-19 cases in Europe. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47 per cent or 135.62 points at 28,860.30 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.51 per cent or 9.97 points to 1,961.51.