Singapore stocks open lower on Thursday amid new banking woes; STI down 0.9%
Michelle Zhu
SINGAPORE shares opened Thursday (Mar 16) lower after US and European markets ended mostly in the red overnight, as fresh fears were sparked by a liquidity crisis faced by Credit Suisse.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) shed 29.49 points or 0.9 per cent to 3,143.43. Losers outnumbered gainers 82 to 29, with 48.2 million securities worth S$58 million changed hands.
Sembcorp Marine was the top-traded counter of the morning in terms of volume, rising 1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.106 with 25 million securities traded.
Shares of Yangzijiang Financial Holding and Golden Agri-Resources also saw brisk activity in early trade. The recently spun-off financial unit of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell S$0.005 or 1.3 per cent to S$0.37, while the palm oil company shed S$0.01 or 3.5 per cent to S$0.28.
The local banks were a sea of red on Thursday morning. DBS dropped S$0.60 or 1.8 per cent to S$32.37, while UOB lost S$0.15 or 0.5 per cent to S$28.05. OCBC was down S$0.18 or 1.5 per cent at S$12.09.
US indices endured another walloping on Wednesday on worries of more bank failures, although the Nasdaq eked out a gain following assurances from the Swiss central bank about Credit Suisse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 31,874.57, down 0.9 per cent, but nearly 450 points above its session low. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.7 per cent to 3,891.93, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 per cent at 11,434.05.
Over in Europe, shares recorded their worst day in over a year on Wednesday, as a selloff in bank stocks resumed.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed the day 2.9 per cent lower at 436.45, a day after recording its best day this year.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
