Singapore stocks decline at Wednesday’s open; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Wednesday (Jun 29) morning, as Wall Street stocks suffered a hit from weak consumer confidence data.

The Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.3 per cent or 8.47 points to 3,131.74 as at 9.02 am. Decliners outnumbered advancers 103 to 34 after 48 million securities worth S$53.1 million changed hands.

QT Vascular : 5I0 0% was the top traded counter by volume, recording an unchanged share price of S$0.004 with some 5.8 million shares traded in the morning.

Other heavily traded securities include Sembcorp Marine : S51 0%, which dropped 0.9 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.109 with 2.4 million shares changing hands, as well as CFM : 5EB 0%, which advanced 3.1 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.133 with 1.7 million shares traded.

Among index counters, ComfortDelGro : C52 0% saw brisk trading with 1.5 million shares changing hands at the open. The counter remained flat at S$1.39.

The trio of local banks all opened lower. As at 9.02 am, DBS : D05 0% fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$30.05, UOB : U11 0% opened 0.3 per cent or S$0.07 lower at S$26.42 and OCBC : O39 0% declined 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$11.44.

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In the US, Wall Street stocks tumbled as positive news about China’s move to scale back Covid-19 restrictions was overshadowed by a gloomy consumer confidence report, which reflected uncertainty in the success of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to tame inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6 per cent, a loss of nearly 500 points, to close at 30,946.99. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2 per cent to 3,821.55, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 3 per cent to 11,181.54.

Even tempered by the US’s downcast report, European shares rose on Tuesday following the eased Covid-19 quarantine mandate in China, as risk appetite improved. Rising oil prices provided an additional boost to energy stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.3 per cent, rising for a third straight session.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo extended falls as it tracked US losses, opening lower on Wednesday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.67 per cent or 235.88 points at 26,813.59 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.79 per cent or 14.98 points to 1,892.40.