SINGAPORE - Singapore shares opened lower on Friday (March 8), with the Straits Times Index retreating 23.42 points, or 0.73 per cent to 3,206.06 as at 9.01am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 81 to 46, after about 59.4 million shares worth $71.9 million changed hands.

The most actively traded counters by volume included Nico Steel which was flat at 0.5 cent with 12.9 million shares traded, and YZJ Shipbuilding which was unchanged at $1.42, with 2.7 million shares traded.

Other active index stocks included Cache Logistics Trust which gained 1.4 per cent, or one cent to $0.72. Banking stocks were also down in the early morning trade: OCBC and DBS fell 0.9 per cent each to $11.10 and $25.10 respectively, while UOB lost 0.6 per cent to $25.02.