SINGAPORE stocks began Wednesday (Sep 18) trading in negative territory, although global equities largely rose overnight.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 17.29 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,576.13. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 62 to 56, after 46.4 million securities worth S$75 million changed hands.
Car dealership group Trans-China Automotive was the most actively traded counter by volume. The counter rose S$0.007 or 10.2 per cent to S$0.076 after six million shares changed hands.
Other actively traded counters included CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which fell S$0.02 or 0.9 per cent to S$2.14. Investment manager Yangzijiang Financial was trading flat at S$0.345.
Banking stocks were down in early trade. DBS shed S$0.32 or 0.8 per cent to S$37.68. OCBC fell S$0.04 or 0.3 per cent to S$15.24, and UOB traded S$0.17 or 0.5 per cent lower at S$32.38.
Wall Street stocks ended little changed on Tuesday following a choppy session, as investors digested a better-than-expected retail sales report ahead of a Federal Reserve decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down less than 0.1 per cent at 41,606.18. The broad-based S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 per cent to 5,634.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2 per cent to 17,628.06.
In Europe, stocks recorded its highest closing level in two weeks on Tuesday as markets remained upbeat on the prospects of the Fed possibly opting for an outsized interest rate cut later this week. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.4 per cent at 517.19.
