Singapore shares edge down at open after Wall Street ends mixed; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks started Wednesday (Apr 12) on a softer note after Wall Street stocks finished mixed and European shares hit a one-month high.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index headed down 0.1 per cent or 4.03 points to 3,293.80 as at 9.02 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 63 to 42, after 54.2 million securities worth S$42.7 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine , which rose 1.7 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.119 with 15.5 million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included Samudera Shipping , which was up 6.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$1.36, with 1.6 million shares traded, as well as Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust , which fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.171, with 1.6 million units traded.

On Wednesday, the Reit said it divested its property located in Hillsboro, Oregon, for US$33.5 million. Separately, its manager said it “is still actively engaged” in negotiating a transaction with Mirae Asset Global Investments.

Banking stocks fell in early morning trade. DBS was trading 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 lower at S$32.29, UOB was down 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$29.98, while OCBC slipped 0.6 per cent or S$0.08 to S$12.71.

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Other active index counters included Singtel , which declined 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.48, and Singapore Exchange , which was up 1 per cent or S$0.09 to S$9.51.

Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, with investors closely watching this week’s inflation data for any impact on central bank decisions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to 33,684.79, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended flat at 4,108.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 per cent to 12,031.88.

European shares, meanwhile, scaled a one-month high on Tuesday, boosted by mining stocks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index finished 0.6 per cent higher.