SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Thursday (Nov 30), following heavy losses of the top-traded counter.

The Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.2 per cent or 5.96 points to 3,078.74 as at 9.02 am. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 73 to 59 after 45.7 million securities worth S$69.5 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Manulife US Reit : BTOU 0%, which lifted its trading halt one day after a new proposal to remedy its financial troubles. The real estate investment trust’s (Reit) units were trading down 22 per cent or US$0.02 at US$0.071 with 8.3 million units changing hands.

Other heavily traded securities included Seatrium : S51 0%, which gained 0.9 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.108 with 5.3 million shares traded, as well as Thai Beverage : Y92 0% which lost 1 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.50 with 2.5 million shares transacted.

Banking stocks traded mixed on Thursday morning. DBS : D05 0% gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$31.86, while OCBC : O39 0% dropped 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$12.66. UOB : U11 0% fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$27.21.

US indices closed mixed on Wednesday, following a higher-than-expected gross domestic product growth rate in the third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up less than 0.1 per cent at 35,430.42. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 4,550.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.2 per cent to 14,258.49.

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Better-than-expected inflation data in Germany, the largest economy in eurozone, uplifted investor sentiments. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5 per cent to 459.1, with rate-sensitive real estate and technology stocks rallying over 1.5 per cent each.