STI down 0.2% — Singapore shares drop on Tuesday’s open

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares drop on Tuesday’s open following a global trend of losses in equity markets overnight, The Business Times reports.

The Straits Times Index (STI) saw a dip of 0.2% or 5.32 points, landing at 3,128.97 by 9:03 am. The market’s losers edged past the gainers with a count of 59 versus 57, as 112 million securities, valued at S$70.5 million, changed hands.

Seatrium took the lead as the most active counter by volume, marking a 1% rise or S$0.001 at S$0.097, with a trading volume of 66.7 million shares.

Another lively trade was seen in Totm Technologies, which soared by 26.3 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.024.

Banking stocks showed a mixed picture in the early trading session. DBS witnessed a decline of 0.6% or S$0.18 at S$31.67. On the other hand, OCBC made a slight increase of 0.1% or S$0.01 to S$12.82, while UOB experienced a minor drop of 0.3% or S$0.08 to S$28.31.

The downward trend in Singapore followed the footsteps of Wall Street’s Monday closing, which saw notable drops as Treasury yields surged amid concerns about the timing of interest rate cuts this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.7%, landing at 38,380.12, while the broader S&P 500 retreated by 0.3% to 4,942.81. The tech-centric Nasdaq Composite Index also saw a slight downturn of 0.2%, closing at 15,597.68.

Over in Europe, shares faced a similar fate on Monday, closing lower as government bond yields surged, casting doubts on the likelihood of imminent interest rate cuts by major central banks despite some positive corporate reports.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index concluded the day with a 0.1% drop, ending at 483.69 after last week’s flat performance. /TISG

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