Singapore shares decline at Monday's open; STI down 0.41% to 3,093.92

SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Monday, with the Straits Times Index moving down 0.41 per cent or 12.6 points to 3,093.92 as at 9.01am, following the kick-off of additional tariffs by China and the United States on each other's goods on Sunday.

On the Singapore bourse, losers outnumbered gainers 54 to 40, or about four securities down for every three up, after 18.4 million securities worth S$36.9 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings retreated 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.905 with 2.4 million shares traded. Mapletree Logistics Trust headed down 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.56 with 2.4 million shares traded. Rex International Holding headed down 1.3 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.076 with 2.2 million shares traded.

Active index stocks included Singtel, down 1.0 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.14; Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, up 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.09;

Financial stocks DBS Group Holdings was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$24.44; United Overseas Bank was down 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$24.95; and OCBC Bank was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$10.66.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday amid renewed fears over the US-China trade war escalation. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.38 per cent or 79.51 points at 20,624.86 in early trade, while the broader Topix index declined 0.28 per cent or 4.20 points at 1,507.66.