SINGAPORE stocks fell at the opening bell on Tuesday (Apr 16) morning, tracking losses in global markets amid worries over geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 7.98 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,175.63. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 63 to 35 after 39.3 million securities worth S$57.1 million changed hands.
Genting Singapore : G13 0% was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It was up S$0.005 or 0.6 per cent at S$0.91, after 5.2 million securities were transacted.
Other counters that were briskly traded included Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, : BS6 0% which gained S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent to S$1.79 after 3.2 million shares changed hands, and Seatrium, : S51 0% which rose S$0.001 or 1.3 per cent to S$0.079 after 3.2 million shares were transacted.
Banking stocks were mixed in early trade. DBS : D05 0% rose S$0.07 or 0.2 per cent to S$35.71, OCBC : O39 0% sank S$0.11 or 0.8 per cent to S$13.60, and UOB : U11 0% shed S$0.14 or 0.5 per cent to S$29.43.
Over on Wall Street, despite strong US economic data, stocks retreated on Monday as investor optimism was dampened by concerns over conflict in the Middle East. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8 per cent to 15,885.02 and the broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.2 per cent to 5,061.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7 per cent to 37,735.11.
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In Europe, shares closed little changed on Monday, with gains in industrials offset by a drop in energy shares amid weak oil prices. The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.1 per cent to close at 505.93.