SINGAPORE shares fell at the opening bell on Friday (Feb 23) morning, led by declines from local banks.
The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.5 per cent or 14.59 points to 3,208.35 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 63 to 53 after 53.6 million securities worth S$60.7 million changed hands.
Genting Singapore was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It declined 6.3 per cent or S$0.065 to S$0.965 after 16.8 million securities were transacted.
Other companies that were briskly traded included Seatrium, which traded flat at S$0.10 after 9.8 million securities were transacted, as well as Thai Beverage which gained 1 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.525 after 1.9 million shares changed hands.
Banking stocks were all down in early morning trade. DBS slipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$33.91. OCBC declined 0.7 per cent or S$0.10 to S$13.35, and UOB fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.14 to S$28.36.
In the US, the Dow Jones index on Thursday finished above 39,000 for the first time, after mammoth earnings from chipmaker Nvidia led to bullish buying over artificial intelligence. The Dow finished at 39,069.11, up 1.2 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 2.1 per cent to 5,087.03, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 3 per cent to 16,041.62.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index also hit an all-time high on Thursday, boosted by technology shares after blowout results from Nvidia, and the European Central Bank showing it was more optimistic on inflation. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose nearly 1 per cent to 495.10, closing at a record high and beating its previous peak in January 2022.
