Singapore shares open flat on Friday

SINGAPORE stocks opened almost flat with the Straits Times Index at 3,308.52 as at 9.01am on Friday, tracking Wall Street retreat.

Some 95.3 million shares valued at S$73.5 million changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 73 to 46.

Keppel Corp, City Developments and Thai Beverage advanced among top traded stocks during early morning trade.

Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated by 31.88 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 22.841.01. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup posted better-than-expected profits, but this failed to fuel optimism to sustain a rally that has driven Wall Street indices to record highs.