Singapore shares opened lower on Thursday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling 57.40 points, or 1%, to 5,655.79 as banking stocks led a broad-based decline.
As of 9.08am, losers outnumbered gainers by 160 to 66, while 84.36 million securities worth S$226.06 million had changed hands on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The weakness was led by heavyweight banking counters. DBS Group Holdings slipped 0.973% to S$74.27, while OCBC Bank traded at S$29.13 and United Overseas Bank (UOB) stood at S$43.48 in early trade.
Among other actively watched blue chips, Singtel traded at S$4.63, Singapore Airlines was at S$7.48, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was at S$3.78 and Keppel changed hands at S$11.83.
In the derivatives market, SGX recorded trading volume of 31,440 contracts in early dealings. MSCI Singapore Index Futures for August were quoted at 520.50, while Nikkei 225 Index Futures for September stood at 62,225. FTSE China A50 Index Futures for July were last indicated at 14,897.
