Singapore shares open down 0.75% on Friday

SINGAPORE shares reversed Thursday's gains in the opening minutes of trade on Friday. The Straits Times Index lost 21.43 points or 0.75 per cent to 2,839.75 points as at 9.03am.

A total of 34.8 million shares worth S$63.1 million changed hands. Losers outnumbered gainers 97 to 37.

Elsewhere, Tokyo shares opened 0.17 per cent lower, ahead of the outcome of a Bank of Japan policy meeting later today. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 33.10 points to 19,320.46 in opening trade, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares ticked down 0.12 per cent, or 1.94 points, to 1,562.77.