Singapore's STI opens weaker

SINGAPORE share prices opened lower on Monday, with the Straits Times Index down 7.27 points to 3,442.83 as at 9.01 am.

Some 84.2 million shares worth S$59.2 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 75 to 73.

This comes as Asian markets got off to a sluggish start in a week book ended with Easter holidays across the world and a US jobs report that could impact the timing of the first hike in interest rates there, according to a Reuters report. Tokyo shares opened almost flat, up 0.05 per cent, or 9.58 points, at the start on Monday, while Australia shares fell amid a slump in crude oil, sliding one per cent by 10.54 am Sydney time (7.54am Singapore time).