Singapore stocks start the week lower; STI down 0.1%

AFTER making gains through last week, Singapore shares opened lower at the start of this week's trading.

The Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.1 per cent or 2.71 points at 3,410.98 as at 9.02 am on Monday (Mar 28).

Gainers outnumbered losers 78 to 37, with about 120.4 million securities worth S$67.3 million changing hands.

Oil and gas company S51 was the most heavily traded counter early Monday, with over 71 million shares transacted. Its share price rose 4.3 per cent or S$0.004 at S$0.098.

E27 , which engages in cultural tourism, property development and property management, and integrated media-related businesses, was also actively traded, with 6.9 million shares changing hands. Its share price gained 8 per cent or S$0.006 at S$0.081.

Property developer PH0 also saw brisk trading. Some 5.2 million of its shares were being traded, and its price climbed 5 per cent or S$0.002 at S$0.042.

Banks were mixed in early trade. D05 shares were down 0.5 per cent or S$0.17 at S$35.43, while U11 rose 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 at S$32.17. O39 shares declined 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 at S$12.33.

Meanwhile in the United States, the Dow and S&P 500 closed in positive territory on Friday, ending a week in which Wall Street sentiment had see-sawed amid high inflation and the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Nasdaq fell, however, as the gap between long- and short-term US Treasury bonds narrowed, a sign of the uncertainty investors are grappling with as they ponder the prospects for global growth.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent at 34,861.24 by the close, while the broad-based S&P 500 had gained 0.5 per cent to end at 4,543.06.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2 per cent to end at 14,169.30.

European shares also ended a choppy session slightly higher on Friday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index added 0.1 per cent, with losses for banks and some defensive stocks offsetting gains in energy, basic materials and technology names.

However, it was down on the week, losing 0.2 per cent, as investors worried about the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while a rally in the commodities sector kept a lid on declines.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday after 9 straight sessions of gains. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.4 per cent or 110.87 points at 28,038.97 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.1 per cent or 1.14 points to 1,980.33.

j a n i c e l i m @ s p h . c o m . s g