Singapore stocks open lower on Friday amid global tech selloff—STI dropped by 0.6%

SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks open lower on Friday, July 19, following losses on Wall Street and Europe, driven by a selloff in technology stocks.

The Straits Times Index (STI) dropped 0.6%, falling 20.25 points to reach 3,450.91 as of 9:01 am, The Business Times reports.

In the broader market, there were 77 losers compared to 28 gainers after 39.5 million securities worth S$56.8 million were exchanged.

Yoma Strategic was the most actively traded stock by volume. However, it saw a significant drop, losing 6.6% or S$0.009 to S$0.128, with 8.3 million shares traded. Thai Beverage also saw heavy trading, rising by 1% or S$0.005 to S$0.505, with 5.1 million shares changing hands. Genting Singapore, on the other hand, fell by 0.6% or S$0.005 to S$0.855, with four million shares traded.

Banking stocks also went down in early trading. DBS dropped by 1% or S$0.36 to S$36.54, UOB declined by 0.3% or S$0.09 to S$32.61, and OCBC fell by 0.8% or S$0.12 to S$15. 

US stocks were down on Thursday. Major tech stocks, which had been leading market gains, retreated amid a broad-based selloff. The energy sector was the only one among the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 to see gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.3% to 40,665.02, snapping a streak of three consecutive record highs. The S&P 500 fell by 0.8% to 5,544.59, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined by 0.7% to 17,871.22.

In Europe, the mood was similarly grim. The Stoxx 600 ended the day 0.2% lower, marking its fourth straight session of losses. /TISG

Read also: Singapore shares open lower on Thursday—STI dropped by 0.6%

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