Singapore stocks open lower on Monday; STI down 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares started the week lower, tracking losses on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent or 11.98 points to 3,086.82 as at 9.03am on Monday.

Losers outnumbered gainers 89 to 61, after 55.2 million securities worth S$61 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Medi Lifestyle 5TN : 5TN 0%, which saw nine million of its shares worth S$250,000 traded as at 9.03am. Its shares gained 0.5 Singapore cent or 20 per cent to three cents.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) T39 : T39 0% was also actively traded, with 3.4 million shares worth S$6.6 million changing hands. Its shares were up S$0.02 or 1 per cent at S$1.96.

SPH shareholders had on Friday voted in favour of a proposed restructuring, which will result in the group's media business being transferred to a company limited by guarantee (CLG). This paves the way for the proposed privatisation of SPH by Keppel Corporation, as completion of the media restructuring was one of the conditions that had to be fulfilled.

Among index stocks, City Developments (CDL) C09 : C09 0% saw brisk trading, with 851,800 shares worth about S$5.8 million changing hands. Shares of the property group were up S$0.11 or 1.7 per cent at S$6.78.

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CDL said on Friday it had exited its investment in China-based Sincere Property Group for a consideration of US$1, while raising its stake in a technology park in Shenzhen.

The trio of local banks were down in early trade. DBS D05 fell S$0.08 or 0.3 per cent to S$30.36, UOB U11 lost S$0.13 or 0.5 per cent to S$25.61, while OCBC O39 : O39 0% was down S$0.08 or 0.7 per cent at S$11.68.

US shares closed lower on Friday for the fourth straight day, with major indices posting losses for the week amid worries about a slowing recovery and rising prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 per cent to close the week at 34,607.72, the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent to end at 4,458.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite Index lost 0.9 per cent to 15,115.49.

Meanwhile, European stocks closed lower on Friday, down more than 1 per cent this week as investors weighed risks from tighter monetary policies after the European Central Bank signalled a slowdown of pandemic-era bond purchases. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3 per cent and declined for four of five sessions this week as worries persisted about a slowing global economic recovery.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday as investors sought to lock in profits following recent rallies, with falls on Wall Street also weighing on the market. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.1 per cent or 40.25 points at 30,341.59 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.4 per cent or 9.13 points to 2,082.52.