SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks opened with little change on Thursday (September 19), after declines in US and European markets overnight.
The Straits Times Index (STI) rose by 0.02%, or 0.76 points, to 3,593.18 by 9:01 am, according to The Business Times.
In the broader market, 69 gainers outpaced 28 losers after a total of 17.8 million securities valued at S$24.3 million were traded.
Metis Energy, a renewable energy infrastructure company, was the most actively traded stock. Its shares climbed by 5.6%, or S$0.002, to S$0.038 after 3.2 million shares were exchanged. Seatrium stocks also gained 2.4%, or S$0.04, to S$1.72. Another actively traded stock was Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US REIT), which went up by 0.8%, or US$0.001, to US$0.125.
However, banking stocks had mixed results. United Overseas Bank (UOB) fell by 0.7%, or S$0.22, to S$32.33. OCBC dropped 0.4%, or S$0.06, to S$15.28, while DBS remained unchanged at S$38.10.
Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite Index all dropped 0.3%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 41,503.1, the S&P 500 at 5,618.26, and the Nasdaq Composite Index at 17,573.3.
In Europe also, stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors held back from taking risks ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. The Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.5%, closing at 514.59. /TISG
Read also: Singapore stocks declined at the start of Wednesday trading—STI dropped by 0.5%
Featured image by Depositphotos