Singapore stocks gain a hair's breadth at Tuesday's open; STI up 0.03%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly higher on Tuesday after global markets sank overnight on worsening sentiment out of China, as well as uncertainties over Wednesday's Federal policy statement.

As at 9.01am, the Straits Times Index (STI) edged up 0.03 per cent or 0.92 points to 3,042.65. Advancers outnumbered decliners marginally by 77 to 75, with 81.3 million securities worth S$80 million changing hands.

Sembcorp Marine was the most active counter by volume with some 28.3 million shares worth S$1.6 million traded. Its share price remained unchanged at 8.2 Singapore cents. Earlier on Tuesday morning, the group announced it had used up the last S$160 million of S$600 million in cash proceeds raised from its S$2.1 billion rights issue in 2020.

Shares of Spackman were also heavily traded at the open, coming in flat at 0.4 Singapore cent after 25.6 million shares changed hands.

Among index securities, Singtel saw brisk trading with 1.5 million shares worth S$10.3 million being transacted in the morning. The telco was up S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent as at 9.01am.

The trio of banks were mixed in early trade. OCBC and UOB were up by S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent and S$0.07 or 0.3 per cent, respectively, at S$11.49 and S$25.58. On the other hand, DBS fell S$0.17 or 0.6 per cent to S$29.60.

Major US stock indices finished Monday with heavy losses, as fears of a debt crisis in China from the expected collapse of Evergrande and a credit default in the United States sparked a selloff.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.8 per cent lower at the close at 33,970.47. The broad-based S&P 500 lost 1.7 per cent to finish at 4,357.73. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.2 per cent to 14,713.90.

European shares ended Monday in the red as well, reporting their worst decline in two months as China's real estate crackdown and tapering worries ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting fuelled risk-off sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 1.7 per cent lower in London, continuing its retreat from a record high reached in August as investors focus on risks ahead. Germany's DAX slumped 2.3 per cent, with banks and automakers underperforming.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index plunged more than two per cent at the open on Tuesday to extend Wall Street falls.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dived 2.1 per cent or 630.51 points to 29,869.54 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 2.2 per cent or 46.36 points to 2,053.81.