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

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Tuesday despite a generally positive performance on Wall Street overnight.

The Straits Times Index (STI) dipped 0.1 per cent or 2.55 points to 3,202.35 as at 9.01am. Gainers outnumbered losers 81 to 47, after 73.4 million securities worth S$41.7 million changed hands.

Jiutian Chemical was the most actively traded counter, with 12.9 million shares worth S$1.3 million trading flat at 10.2 Singapore cents as at 9.02am. P5 Capital was also among top traded securities, with 8.1 million shares worth S$290,000 changing hands within the same amount of time. The counter rose 2.9 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 3.6 cents.

Among index counters, Singapore Airlines was the top gainer, rising 1.4 per cent or S$0.07 to S$5.20 as at 9.04am. Meanwhile, ST Engineering fell 2.5 per cent or S$0.10 to S$3.92, making it the top loser.

The trio of local banks were mixed in early trade. As at 9.05am, DBS rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$29.05, while OCBC edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.03. However, UOB lost 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$26.37.

Over on Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished at fresh records on Monday as large tech companies rallied ahead of earnings later in the week from Amazon and Facebook, among others. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9 per cent to close at 14,138.77, overtaking its previous record. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,187.64, narrowly topping its all-time high. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2 per cent to 33,981.57.

European stocks ended higher on Monday as prices of metals boosted miners, while a rise in bond yields supported shares of major banks amid optimism the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.3 per cent higher after its first weekly loss in eight last week. Basic resources stocks were among the best performers for the day, rising 1.9 per cent to a 10-year closing high.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks barely moved at the open on Tuesday, with investors focusing on the Bank of Japan's policy decision later in the day. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.04 per cent or 10.81 points to 29,115.42 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 0.4 per cent or 7.20 points to 1,910.95.