Singapore stocks open lower on Friday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly lower on Friday amid continued investor caution over ongoing Brexit talks, Covid-19 vaccine developments and US stimulus negotiations.

The Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.1 per cent or 2.82 points to 2,855.2 as at 9.03am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 82 to 45, after some 54.3 million securities worth S$52.5 million changed hands.

Among the top decliners in terms of value traded was ComfortDelGro, which opened 1.2 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$1.72.

Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS was down 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 at S$25.29, UOB fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.06 to S$22.79, while OCBC rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$10.12 as at 9.03am.

Shares of contract manufacturer Hi-P International surged 10.5 per cent to S$2 with some 0.5 million shares worth S$1.1 million changing hands as at 9.03am.

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Following a trading halt called on Dec 15, Hi-P International's chairman and controlling shareholder Yao Hsiao Tung on Friday made a voluntary unconditional general offer at S$2 per share, with a view to delist the company from the Singapore Exchange. The trading halt was lifted after the announcement.

Shares of GHY Culture & Media Holding Co opened at 71 Singapore cents on its Friday trading debut on the mainboard. This represents a rise of 7.7 per cent or five Singapore cents from the counter's initial public offering price of S$0.66 per share.

In the US, Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records on optimism over the economy's 2021 outlook, as coronavirus vaccines advance and Congress appears close to a deal on stimulus spending.

The Nasdaq jumped 0.8 per cent to 12,764.75, finishing at a record for the third straight session, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to end at 3,722.48. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 per cent to 30,303.37.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened weaker on Friday amid a higher yen and worries over a rise in Covid-19 cases in Japan.