Singapore stocks open lower on Thursday; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks opened weaker on Thursday (May 9) following disappointing earnings reported between market days.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.3 per cent or 8.68 points to 3,255.85 as at 9.02 am. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 65 to 39 after 23 million securities worth S$42.4 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was Thai Beverage : Y92 0%, which held steady at S$0.49 with five million shares changing hands, as well as ESR-Logos Reit : J91U 0%, which stayed at S$0.295 with 3.4 million units traded. Seatrium : S51 0% was also briskly traded, gaining 1.6 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.91 with 1.6 million shares transacted.

Banking stocks traded mixed on Thursday morning. DBS : D05 0%lost 1.6 per cent or S$0.58 to S$35.13. UOB : U11 0%gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$30.02, and OCBC : O39 0% rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.06 to S$13.81.

US indices closed on Wednesday mixed, as investors digested mixed earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.4 per cent higher at 39.056.39. The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 5,187.67, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 per cent to 16,302.76.

Over in Europe, stocks closed on Wednesday at a record high as strong results boosted market confidence. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.3 per cent higher and at a record, building on Tuesday’s more than 1 per cent jump.