Singapore stocks open lower on Wednesday; STI down 0.8%

SINGAPORE shares started Wednesday on a softer note, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) retreating 20.47 points or 0.8 per cent to 2,538.56 as at 9.01am.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 74 to 57, after 151.7 million securities worth S$40.9 million changed hands.

The most heavily traded counter by volume was QT Vascular, which was flat at 1.7 Singapore cents, with some 131 million shares traded.

The counter surged more than 112 per cent on Tuesday, after the medtech firm announced plans to acquire a Mongolian mining and energy company for S$1 billion in cash and new shares. If completed, the transaction is expected to result in a reverse takeover of QT Vascular.

Other heavily traded securities include Spackman Entertainment Group, which gained 12.5 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 0.9 cent, with 14.2 million shares changing hands.

Spackman's sponsor has said that it is up to the Singapore Exchange to decide whether the South Korean media player's proposed divestment of an associate is an interested-person transaction, and if the shareholders who will vote on the deal are independent.

Meanwhile, banking stocks slipped in early trade. DBS declined S$0.18 or 0.9 per cent to S$20.81, United Overseas Bank shed S$0.48 or 2.4 per cent to S$19.58 on an ex-dividend basis, while OCBC Bank edged down S$0.03 or 0.3 per cent to S$8.71.

Medtecs International gained S$0.06 or 4.2 per cent to S$1.48 on a cum-dividend basis, while SATS lost S$0.07 or 2.3 per cent to S$3.03.

Analysts say the worst could be over for SATS, with CGS-CIMB upgrading its call on the counter to "hold" from "reduce", while OCBC Investment Research has maintained its "hold" recommendation on the ground handler and food solutions provider.

Over on Wall Street, US stocks hit further highs on Tuesday, though a drop in Apple's share price capped gains from positive developments in the US-China trade front, and fresh progress on vaccine developments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60.02 points or 0.2 per cent to 28,248.44, the S&P 500 gained 12.34 points or 0.4 per cent to 3,443.62, while the Nasdaq Composite added 86.75 points or 0.8 per cent to 11,466.47.

European shares fell on Tuesday, hurt by losses in British blue chips, while mixed economic data and continued growth in coronavirus cases cut short optimism over a possible Covid-19 treatment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.3 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, with some investors seeking to lock in profits. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2 per cent or 40.82 points at 23,255.95 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.3 per cent or 4.95 points to 1,620.28.