Singapore stocks open slightly lower on Wednesday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares fell in early trade on Wednesday (Nov 17), despite Wall Street notching gains overnight on strong retail sales.

The Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.1 per cent or 3.15 points to 3,235.65 as at 9.02 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 78 to 55, after 106.8 million securities worth S$67.2 million changed hands.

Singapore exports rose for the 11th straight month in October, data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Wednesday morning.

Non-oil domestic exports growth jumped 17.9 per cent year on year, up from the 12 per cent expansion in September and also ahead of the median estimate of 15.1 per cent in a private Bloomberg poll.

Electronics manufacturer HGH 5GZ was the top gainer in terms of volume, rising S$0.001 or 3.2 per cent to S$0.032, after 8.9 million shares were traded.

Sembcorp Marine S51 was also actively traded at the open, gaining S$0.001 or 1.2 per cent to S$0.086, with 2 million shares changing hands.

Index counter Singtel Z74 was among the most actively traded counter on Wednesday morning, with 2.8 million shares traded. The counter fell S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent to S$2.53.

The trio of local banks were a sea of red at the open. DBS was down 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 to S$32, UOB fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$27.53, while OCBC slipped 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.86 as at 9.02 am.

Over in the US, better-than-expected retail sales data and healthy earnings propelled Wall Street to a positive close on Tuesday, calming investors who feared rising inflation would wreak havoc on the US economy.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent to 36,142.22, the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent to 4,700.90, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8 per cent to 15,973.86.

European shares extended their rally on Tuesday, boosted by shares of Dutch technology investor Prosus and French luxury group Kering, as well as optimism over easing US-China tensions.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.2 per cent higher to a new peak of 489.27.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, tracking global market gains after upbeat US retail sales. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.2 per cent to 29,871.73, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.1 per cent to 2,052.82.