Singapore shares open lower on Thursday tracking global slowdown; STI down 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks fell on Thursday (Apr 6) morning, tracking the slowdown in global markets overnight.

As at 9.02 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) dropped 0.4 per cent or 13.83 points to 3,305.04.

Across the broader market, losers more than doubled gainers 92 to 36 after 34.9 million securities worth S$44 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine , which rose 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.121, with five million shares changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included ComfortDelGro , with 3.4 million shares traded flat at S$1.20, as well as Yangzijiang Shipbuilding which lost 1.6 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.21, with 1.1 million shares traded.

Banking shares generally dipped in the morning. DBS traded flat at S$33.31, while OCBC fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$12.69. UOB dropped 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 to S$29.77.

SEE ALSO

Stocks to watch: Singtel, Nordic Group, OCBC

US stocks mostly fell on Wednesday after being hit with another round of weak data on employment and the services sector. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.3 per cent to 4,090.38, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 per cent to 11,996.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out gains of 0.2 per cent to close at 33,482.72.

European shares declined on Wednesday following a slower-than-expected pickup in the eurozone’s economic recovery. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 per cent to 456.59, dragged down by industrial goods and services stocks.