Singapore stocks fall at Wednesday's open; STI down 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly lower on Wednesday. The Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.2 per cent or 4.62 points to 3,162.52 as at 9.01am. However, gainers outnumbered losers 86 to 49, with 88 million securities worth S$49.6 million changing hands.

P5 Capital was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 28.8 million shares worth S$1.1 million traded as at 9.02am. Its shares were at four Singapore cents, up 11.1 per cent or 0.4 cent.

On Tuesday night, P5 Capital announced that it had entered into a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Lim Shao-Lin for a proposed acquisition of some 23 million shares held in Gashubunited Holding, representing about 60.3 per cent of the total shares in the capital of the energy player for a consideration of about S$18.1 million.

Hong Lai Huat also saw brisk trading, with 15.2 million shares worth S$1.6 million changing hands within the first two minutes of market open. Its shares gained 18.1 per cent or 1.7 Singapore cents to 11.1 cents.

The group announced on Tuesday evening that its wholly-owned subsidiary, HLH Agriculture (Cambodia) Co, has entered into an MOU with Cambodia Hei Shi Mineral Co, to establish a joint venture company for the exploration and mining of mineral resources at the Cambodia-Singapore Agriculture Hub with an estimated investment value of US$20 million.

Index stock Singtel was also actively traded, with 2.2 million shares worth S$5.3 million traded as at 9.02am. The counter was down 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 at S$2.35.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Singtel's food reviews and restaurant reservations portal HungryGoWhere is set to shutter on July 11, according to a statement on its website posted on Tuesday. This follows Singtel's announced review of its digital businesses.

The trio of local banks were lower in early trade. DBS dropped 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$29.94 in early trading, UOB was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$26.20 and OCBC lost 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.44 as at 9.02am

Over on Wall Street, stocks ended little changed after a choppy session on Tuesday, with markets responding to data showing a lower US trade deficit while retail investors on WallStreetBets on Reddit lifted an insurer by more than 85 per cent in the latest surprise wave of stock buying.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.1 per cent at 34,599.82, the broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 4,227.26, and the tech-rich Nasdaq inched up 0.3 per cent to 13,924.91.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with telecoms, travel and real estate shares leading equity markets higher even as weak German industrial output data and doubts that Britain will lift remaining pandemic restrictions later in the month dampened gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.2 per cent to close at a new high.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking subdued trading on Wall Street as investors sought fresh market-moving events. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.3 per cent or 80.9 points at 28,882.67 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slid 0.1 per cent or 2.4 points to 1,960.27.