Singapore stocks open lower on Tuesday; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Tuesday (May 23) after US equities ended mixed, as talks on lifting the debt ceiling continued. 

As at 9.02am on Tuesday, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 10.3 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,200.79. Gainers outnumbered losers 70 to 56 after 47 million securities worth S$57.9 million changed hands.

Genting Singapore was the top traded counter by volume with 6.46 million shares changing hands, though the index counter remained flat at S$1.02.  

Seatrium also saw brisk trading, with its share price dropping 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.126.

On the other hand, STI constituent Thai Beverage gained 0.9 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.585.

The trio of banks were mixed in early trade. DBS ’ share price was largely unchanged, gaining a marginal S$0.01 to S$30.92. UOB rose 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 at S$27.83, while OCBC lost 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$12.25.  

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US indices were mixed on Monday ahead of White House negotiations with Republican leaders to reach a debt deal. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 per cent or 140.05 points to 33,286.58. The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 4,192.66 while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent or 62.88 points to 12,720.78.

As investors evaluated the monetary policy outlook in Europe and US, the European Stoxx 600 ended Monday flat at 468.91 points, with UK pharmaceutical company, Dechra, falling after a profit warning.