Singapore stocks slip at Thursday's open; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks fell in early trade on Thursday amid cautious trading.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 4.20 points to 3,148.95 as at 9.01am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 67 to 61 after 80.1 million securities worth S$41 million changed hands.

Sembcorp Marine S51 shares were among the most actively traded securities on Thursday morning, with 5.1 million shares changing hands as at 9.01am. The counter traded flat at 11.9 Singapore cents.

Among index counters, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust BUOU (FLCT) was the most heavily traded, with 3.1 million shares changing hands. Units in FLCT traded flat at S$1.51.

The trio of local banks saw mixed trading on Thursday morning. DBS D05 was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$30.09, UOB U11 was flat at S$26.18, while OCBC O39 slipped 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$12.10 in early trade.

US stocks treaded water on Wednesday following data showing accelerating inflation, while the dollar retreated as the Federal Reserve chief maintained a dovish stance on monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent to end at 34,933.43 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1 per cent to 4,374.38. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2 per cent to 14,644.95.

European shares recovered most of their day's losses to remain near record highs on Wednesday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.1 per cent down, after hitting a record high on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday in cautious trade after a mixed close on Wall Street, with investors eyeing key China data due later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2 per cent or 50.19 points at 28,558.30 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged down 0.2 per cent or 3.35 points to 1,959.81.