Singapore shares open lower on Wednesday; STI down 0.16% to 3,354.80

SINGAPORE shares edged down at the start of trading on Wednesday, following a retreat of overbought US stocks last night. The Straits Times Index lost 5.23 points or 0.16 per cent to 3,354.80 as at 9.03am.

About 38.6 million shares worth about S$103.7 million changed hands, which worked out to a higher average unit price of about S$2.69 per share.

Losers outnumbered gainers 71 to 56.

The most actively traded security was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which traded up S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent to S$1.53 with 4.4 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Global Invacom and Sen Yue Holdings.

Among financials, DBS was the only local bank in positive territory, up S$0.04 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.03. UOB lost S$0.04 or 0.2 per cent to S$26.56 while OCBC traded down S$0.05 or 0.4 per cent to S$11.45.

Among other index stocks, Singtel was trading unchanged at S$3.52 with 1.9 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, Wilmar International shares declined S$0.03 or 0.8 per cent to S$3.80.

Wall Street stocks finished lower on Tuesday, retreating from records following mixed earnings and economic data and amid talk the market is due for a pullback.

The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.3 per cent to 3,004.04, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.1 per cent at 27,335.63 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 per cent to close at 8,222.80.

In Europe, London's main index rose on Tuesday led by Burberry, which reached an 11-month high after its first-quarter update showed new designs boosted sales.

The FTSE 100 added 0.6 per cent, its best day in nearly two weeks, outperforming the broader European markets.

In Japan, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.24 per cent or 52.58 points at 21,482.67 in early trading.