SINGAPORE - Singapore shares opened sharply lower on Thursday as Asia markets sank following an equity selloff in New York, with the Straits Times Index down 2.4 per cent or 75.53 points to 3,055.95 as at 9.05am.

About 195 million shares worth $171 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of $0.88 per share.

Losers outnumbered gainers 223 to 18.

The most actively traded stock was Nico Steel, which traded at $0.006 with 31.8 million shares changing hands.

Other actives included Thomson Medical Group and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

Among financials, DBS shares traded $0.61 or 2.4 per cent lower at $24.34 while OCBC Bank shares were down $0.31 or 2.8 per cent at $10.64.

In regional markets, Japan's Topix index tumbled 3.3 per cent as at 9.09am in Tokyo. Meanwhile, investor fears of surging interest rates also hit markets in South Korea and Australia, with the Kospi index down 2.3 per cent and the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling 1.8 per cent.