Singapore shares open lower on Tuesday

SINGAPORE share prices opened 0.97 per cent lower on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 26.9 points to 2,739.16 at 9.10 am.

This was despite gains in the US and in Tokyo.

On Wall Street, strength in healthcare and pharmaceutical shares offset slumping oil-related equities on Monday as US stocks finished mostly higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 per cent to 17,705.91. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent to 2,058.69, while the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent at 4,750.21.

In Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.48 per cent or 77.85 points to 16,293.88 shortly after the opening bell, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.28 per cent or 3.68 points to 1,310.34.

On Singapore's bourse, Tuesday's highest value traded stocks were CapitaLand (down two cents at S$2.96); Singtel (down four cents at S$3.85); and DBS (down 12 cents at S$14.79) at 9.11 am.

Overall on the stock market, 85.8 million shares worth S$124.4 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 106 to 40 as at 9.09 am.