Singapore shares open lower on Thursday—STI dropped by 0.2%

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares opened lower on Thursday, tracking losses in US and European markets from the previous day.

The Business Times reported that the Straits Times Index (STI) had dropped 6.8 points or 0.2% to reach 3,316.4 by 9:01 am.

More stocks were declining than advancing, with 65 losers compared to 32 gainers. Trading activity amounted to 37.8 million securities valued at S$55.4 million.

Among the actively traded stocks, Marco Polo Marine experienced a decline of 1.5% to S$0.068, with 5.6 million securities changing hands. Addvalue Technologies also saw a notable decrease, dropping by 8.3% to S$0.011.

However, there was a positive outlier. Sats stood out as a positive performer. The in-flight caterer and ground handler’s shares rose S$0.09 or 3.4% to S$2.72. This uptick followed the company’s report of earnings amounting to S$64.1 million for the six months ending March 31.

In the banking sector, OCBC, UOB, and DBS all saw declines at the opening bell. OCBC dropped by 0.4% to S$14.34, UOB by 0.2% to S$30.43, and DBS by 0.3% to S$35.59.

These declines were in line with the downturn seen in US markets. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% to 38,441.54. The S&P 500 also fell, losing 0.7% to close at 5,266.95, while the Nasdaq Composite Index decreased by 0.6% to 16,920.58.

European markets also closed lower on Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index down by 1.1% at 513.45, marking its largest single-day decline since April 16. The decline was attributed to persistent concerns about global interest rates remaining higher for longer than anticipated. /TISG

Read also: Singapore stocks open lower on Wednesday—STI dropped by 0.1%

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