Singapore shares continue sell-down on Monday

SINGAPORE share prices opened lower on Monday with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 21.85 points or 0.76 per cent to 2,857.74 at 9.01am.

This followed US stocks, which fell sharply on Friday in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision against raising interest rates because of worries about slowing global economic growth. The US central bank's failure to act, despite previously suggesting a rate hike was imminent, also left investors uncertain of the outlook for US monetary policy.

According to AFP, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 289.95 (1.74 per cent) to 16,384.79. The broad-based S&P 500 sank 32.11 (1.61 per cent) to 1,958.09, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 66.72 (1.36 per cent) at 4,827.23.

In Asia, financial markets in Japan are closed from Monday to Wednesday for a public holiday.

Singapore's STI had, on Friday, seen a net loss of 16.22 points to 2,879.59.

On Monday morning, the Singapore Exchange's biggest losers in early trading included Jardine Cycle & Carriage at S$28.88 (down S$0.41 or 1.4 per cent); UOB at S$19.18 (down S$0.18 or 0.93 per cent); and Singapore Airlines at S$10.21 (down S$0.17 or 1.6 per cent).

Some 45.9 million shares worth S$89.6 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 116-32.