Singapore stocks open lower on Wednesday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks slid in early trade on Wednesday (Feb 8), following gains in US and Europe markets.  

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 4.6 points to 3,376.24 as at 9.01 am. Gainers outnumbered losers 64 to 53 after 47.7 million securities worth S$51.9 million changed hands. 

Shen Yao was the most actively traded on Wednesday morning, with 8.6 million of its securities changing hands. The gold mining company was down 50 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.001. 

Thai Beverage was also briskly traded, with 5.3 million of its shares changing hands. The beverage company gained 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.69. 

Sembcorp Marine was among the top five actively traded counters, with 2.8 million of its shares changing hands in early trade. The counter remained unchanged at S$0.139. 

The three local banks gained on Wednesday morning. DBS rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.16 to S$36.15, while UOB increased 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$30.60. OCBC was also up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$13.03. 

SEE ALSO

Stocks to watch: Lendlease Reit, StarHub, HPH Trust, F&N, UOI

Wall Street stocks ended higher on Tuesday, following product announcements by Google and Microsoft which helped to lift tech shares, as well as muted comments on inflation by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent to close at 34,156.69, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.3 per cent to 4,164. Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also gained 1.9 per cent to 12,113.79. 

Europe shares ended slightly higher, helped by some positive earnings reports, although investors grew anxious over high interest rates. The Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 per cent to close at 458.19.