SINGAPORE stocks fell on Friday (Mar 15) morning, after global equities took a hit overnight.
As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 29.66 points or 0.9 per cent to 3,156.74. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 82 to 34 after 97 million securities worth S$98.8 million changed hands.
Seatrium was the most heavily traded counter by volume. It declined 1.1 per cent to S$0.091 after 45.2 million securities were transacted.
Other companies that were briskly traded included Singtel which shed S$0.05 or 2 per cent to S$2.43, and Genting Singapore which fell S$0.005 or 0.6 per cent to S$0.895.
Banking stocks were down in early trade. DBS dipped S$0.25 or 0.7 per cent to S$34.37. OCBC declined S$0.14 or 1.1 per cent to S$13.20, and UOB traded S$0.29 or 1 per cent lower to S$28.66.
Over on Wall Street, stocks largely slumped on Thursday, as a higher than anticipated wholesale prices report rekindled worries over inflation and pushed Treasury yields up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4 per cent lower at 38,905.66, and the broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.3 per cent to 5,150.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also retreated 0.3 per cent to 16,128.53.
European shares ended lower on Thursday as well, following signs of sticky US inflation and uncertainty over the timing of interest rate cuts. Weakness in miners also contributed to the declines.
The Stoxx 600 closed 0.2 per cent lower at 506.40.
