SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday (May 18), with the Straits Times Index shedding 9.82 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 3,526.94 as at 9.01am.

This came after US stocks jolted lower overnight after President Donald Trump cast doubt that current trade talks with China would succeed, and commented that China was "very spoiled on trade".

On the Singapore bourse, the field was evenly matched, with as many gainers as losers at 49 each. About 52.9 million shares worth $51 million changed hands in total.

The most actively traded counters by volume were MDR, which was flat at 0.2 cent with 14.1 million shares traded; and Hyphens Pharma which was flat at 30 cents with 4.6 million shares traded. Hyphens Pharma made its debut on the Catalist board on Friday.

Other active index stocks included OCBC Bank, which fell 1.7 per cent to $12.97; and SIA which rose 1.4 per cent to $11.30 on news that the group has swung back into the black with a Q4 net profit of $181.8 million, and is merging SilkAir into its flagship carrier.