Singapore stocks started lower on Wednesday—STI dropped by 0.4%

SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks started lower on Wednesday morning, following a lacklustre performance in the US market overnight.

The Business Times reported that the Straits Times Index (STI) dropped by 0.4% to 3,287.81 at 9:01 am.

In the broader market, more stocks gained than lost, with 51 going up and 41 going down. A total of 29.8 million stocks, valued at S$66.7 million, changed hands.

Among the actively traded counters, Seatrium took the spotlight, with 6.2 million shares traded. It went down by 0.5% to S$1.93. Singtel followed suit, dropping by 0.4% to S$2.37 with 1.8 million shares traded.

AnAn International stayed steady at the same price after 1.2 million shares were traded.

Banking stocks had a mixed start. DBS rose slightly by 0.1% to S$35.95. However, OCBC fell by 2.7% to S$13.87.

UOB decreased by 0.2% to S$30.50 after announcing its first-quarter profit ended March 31 of S$1.49 billion, 1.6% lower than the previous year’s S$1.51 billion.

Excluding one-off expenses related to the acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses, UOB’s net profit would have been 0.7% lower at S$1.57 billion.

On Wall Street, the market was quiet, with slight changes on Tuesday after a “bumpy” session.

Analysts pointed out that trading was quieter this week than last week when there was a flurry of major earnings reports, economic data releases, and the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain interest rates.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped by 0.1% to 16,332.56, while the S&P 500 increased by 0.1% to 5,187.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.1%, closing at 38,884.26.

In Europe, stocks reached record highs on Tuesday, mainly driven by strong performances in financial stocks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed by 1.1%, reaching a closing figure 514.02. /TISG

Read also: Singapore stocks kicked off on Tuesday—STI up by 0.2%

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