Singapore shares fall at Tuesday's open extending global losses; STI down 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares started the week lower on Tuesday (Mar 8), extending losses in the regional and global markets as the Russian-Ukraine crisis continues to weigh on investors.

Russia said on Monday that all corporate deals with companies and individuals from so-called "unfriendly countries" -- including Singapore -- would now have to be approved by a government commission, according to a government resolution.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent or 13.42 points to 3,174.40 as at 9.03 am. Losers outnumbered gainers 90 to 56, after 89.8 million securities worth S$98 million changed hands.

Sembcorp Marine S51 continued to be the most actively traded counter by volume at the market open, with about 24.4 million shares changing hands. The counter was up 1 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.097.

Oil-related stocks were among the top 4 most heavily traded. Golden Agri-Resources E5H was up 1.6 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.315, with 5 million shares traded; RH PetroGas T13 was up 3.7 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.425, with 4.2 million shares traded. Rex International 5WH held steady at S$0.48.

Among index stocks, Singapore Airlines C6L dropped 0.8 per cent or S$0.04 to S$4.93, while Singtel Z74 was trading 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$2.52.

The trio of local banks was down in early trade. DBS D05 fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 to S$31.73, UOB U11 sank 1.1 per cent or S$0.32 to S$28.80, while OCBC O39 dropped 0.5 per cent or S$0.06 to S$11.42.

In the US, stocks plunged on Monday amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and mounting concerns that spiking commodity prices will slow the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 2.4 per cent to finish at 32,817.38. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 3 per cent to end at 4,201.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.6 per cent to 12,830.96.

European stocks ended above session lows on Monday, helped by a 4.3 per cent rally in energy stocks as oil prices rose above US$130 a barrel. However, inflation fears saw German and Italian shares confirm a bear market.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped was down 1.1 per cent, with banking and auto stocks leading declines.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday amid investor worries over surging oil prices and uncertainties surrounding Russia and Ukraine.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index sank 1.2 per cent to 24,913.90, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.2 per cent to 1,772.99.