Singapore shares resume decline; STI down 1.5% at open

SINGAPORE stocks on Thursday morning resumed their fall from the previous day while global markets continued to take a beating from the Covid-19 outbreak.

The benchmark Straits Times Index dropped 1.5 per cent or 37.53 points to 2,402.74 as at 9am on Thursday.

Losers outnumbered gainers 104 to 26, or about four securities down for every one up, after 38.4 million securities worth S$71.1 million changed hands.

Among the most active counters by volume was CapitaLand Mall Trust, which fell 6.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$1.62, with 4.4 million units changing hands as at 9.01am.

Other heavily traded securities included Genting Singapore, which fell 2.2 per cent or 1.5 Singapore cents to 67 cents with 3.1 million shares traded.

Singtel lost 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.50 with 2.6 million shares traded.

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The trio of local banks all slid in early morning trade. DBS was trading down 1.3 per cent or S$0.23 at S$17.92 as at 9.01am, UOB shed 2.4 per cent or S$0.46 to S$18.63, while OCBC dropped 1.8 per cent or S$0.15 to S$8.34.

Other active index counters included Ascendas Reit, which lost S$0.16 or 5.7 per cent to S$2.65 as at 9.01am.

In the US, Wall Street's three major indices fell more than 4 per cent on Wednesday after President Donald Trump's dire warning on the US death toll from the coronavirus sent investors running from even the most defensive equities.

European stock markets also ended Wednesday lower, amid increasingly dire economic readings due to the coronavirus, while bank stocks there plummeted as several majors suspended dividend payments.

In Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, with investor sentiment weighed down by ongoing virus concerns in Japan, which is seeing a steady rise in cases.