Singapore shares open lower on Tuesday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares began Tuesday’s (Dec 20) trading session in negative territory, following yet another sell-off on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 4.67 points to 3,251.94 as 24.3 million securities worth S$50.6 million were traded in the morning. Decliners outnumbered advancers 68 to 62 as at 9.01 am.

The top-traded counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine : S51 0%, which expanded 0.7 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.141 after 1.3 million shares changed hands.

Among index counters, Singtel : Z74 0% experienced the highest volume of trade on Tuesday morning. The telco’s shares rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.61 after 1.3 million shares were traded.

Other listed companies that were also actively traded include software and IT company CSE Global : 544 0%, which lost 1.5 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.335, and 9R : 1Y1 0%, also known as Viking Offshore and Marine, which gained 1.9 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.055. Both counters saw about 1.3 million shares traded as at 9 am.

The trio of local banks was a mixed bag during early trade. DBS : D05 0% opened unchanged at S$34.11, UOB : U11 0% slipped 1.7 per cent or S$0.54 to S$30.42 and OCBC : O39 0% gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$12.25.

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Meanwhile, US equities tumbled yet again on Monday amid investor gloom as more experts predict a recession and markets await key economic data and earnings later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.5 per cent at 32,757.54, the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent to 3,817.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.5 per cent to 10,546.03.

European shares, on the other hand, found footing as shares advanced on Monday, supported by the energy sector. The gains reversed last week’s bruising sell-off on growing fears of a global recession as major central banks promised further interest rate hikes ahead.

The regionwide Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3 per cent higher, outperforming the slide in its US peers.