SINGAPORE - Singapore shares opened slightly weaker on Wednesday morning (June 26) as they continued their decline this week amid a sluggish global stock market.
The Straits Times Index declined 5.21 points or 0.16 per cent to 3,299.06 as at 9.03am.
About 39.3 million shares worth about $66.9 million changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of about $1.70 per share.
Losers outnumbered gainers 70 to 49.
The most actively traded security was Chinese canned vegetable and fruits producer Sino Grandness Food Industry Group, which jumped $0.005 or 11.9 per cent to $0.047 with 9.4 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Spackman Entertainment and CapitaLand Commercial Trust.
Among financials, DBS shares declined $0.06 or 0.2 per cent to $25.54 and UOB was down $0.07 or 0.3 per cent to $25.63. OCBC rounded out a weak start for banks, slipping $0.02 or 0.2 per cent to $11.23.
Among other index stocks, Singtel was trading up $0.01 or 0.3 per cent to $3.49 with 3.8 million shares changing hands.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7 per cent and the S&P 500 tumbled 1 per cent on Tuesday following a disappointing US consumer sentiment reading and after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell tempered expectations in the markets for aggressive interest rate cuts in remarks on Tuesday.
European shares extended losses to a third day amid rising US-Iranian tensions and anxiety over Sino-US trade, with the STOXX 600 index edging down 0.1 per cent in thin trade with most of Europe's country indexes in the red.
In Tokyo, stocks followed global markets, with the Nikkei 225 index down 0.51 per cent in early trade.
