Singapore shares open lower on Monday; STI down 0.3% to 3,114.97

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Monday, with the Straits Times Index losing 0.3 per cent, or 10.66 points to 3,114.97 as at 9am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 61 to 31, after about 31.9 million shares worth S$61.6 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Singtel retreated 0.6 per cent, or two Singapore cents to $3.10, with 2.9 million shares traded; while Genting Singapore was flat at 88 cents, with 1.6 million shares traded.

The banking trio also faltered at the start of the week with DBS losing 0.2 per cent, or five cents to S$24.85, United Overseas Bank dropping 0.8 per cent, or 21 cents to S$25.47 and OCBC Bank retreating 0.1 per cent, or one cent to S$10.81.

Other active index stocks included Jardine Cycle & Carriage which slid 1.5 per cent, or 46 cents to S$29.17, and Singapore Exchange which fell 1.1 per cent, or nine cents to S$8.40 on a cum-dividend basis.

Elsewhere in Asia, equities mostly pulled back on Monday, as investors weighed the latest signs of trade tensions and China's economy continued to show weakness in manufacturing.

Japan's Topix retreated 0.6 per cent as at 8.59am, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.3 per cent and Australian shares were little changed.