Singapore shares fall at Wednesday’s open, tracking global sell-off; STI down 1.1%

SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Wednesday (Oct 4), following overnight losses in global markets as surging Treasury yields weighed on investor sentiments.

The Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 1.1 per cent or 34.75 points to 3,157.6 as at 9.02 am. Losers outnumbered gainers 98 to 24, after 145.1 million securities worth S$96.3 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Seatrium , which lost 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.129 with 74.8 million shares transacted.

Thai Beverage was also briskly traded. It dropped 3.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$0.545 with 18.5 million shares changed hands. Genting Singapore held steady at S$0.835 with 5.3 million shares transacted.

Local banking stocks all fell in early morning trade. DBS was trading down 1.4 per cent or S$0.47 at S$33.06. OCBC slipped 1 per cent or S$0.13 to S$12.67, while UOB declined 0.8 per cent or S$0.22 to S$28.05.

US indices tumbled as Treasury yields hit a 16-year high, fuelling worries about more interest rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.3 per cent to 33,002.38. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.4 per cent to 4,229.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.9 per cent to 13,059.47.

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European shares also sank to a new low, led by the boosted Treasury yields. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.1 per cent to 440.7, registering the weakest level since Mar 24 this year.