Singapore stocks fall at Monday's open; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE stocks fell in early trade on Monday (Oct 18), failing to track gains on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index fell 0.1 per cent or 3.66 points to 3,170.25 as at 9.02 am.

Gainers outnumbered losers 97 to 51 after 79.3 million securities worth S$62.9 million changed hands.

Hatten Land shares were among the most actively traded securities on Monday morning, with 14.1 million shares changing hands as at 9.01 am. The counter rose 1.3 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.08.

Among index counters, Singtel was the most actively traded by value on Monday morning, slipping 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$2.50 as at 9.02 am.

The trio of local banks saw mixed trading on Monday morning. DBS was up 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$30.47, UOB fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.10 to S$26.61, while OCBC opened flat at S$11.87 as at 9.02 am.

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In the US, Wall Street stocks scored another winning session Friday following good economic data and earnings, concluding a positive week on a strong note. US retail sales posted a surprise 0.7 per cent increase in September, according to government data, pushed by broad gains that extended beyond petrol and autos.

The better-than-expected report, coupled with strong earnings from Goldman Sachs, lifted stocks further after major indices surged more than 1.5 per cent on Thursday (Oct 14).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent to close at 35,294.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 14,897.34. The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 4,471.37, up 0.8 per cent for the day and about 1.8 per cent for the week.

European stocks marked their best weekly performance in 7 months on Friday, as a bright start to the earnings season helped ease investor concerns about higher inflation.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7 per cent to close at a 1-month high, ending the week with a 2.6 per cent gain after a sharp rebound in risk appetite in the past 2 sessions.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as investors awaited corporate earnings and Japan's upcoming general election.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index eased 0.1 per cent or 39.68 points to 29,028.95, while the broader Topix index inched down 0.1 per cent or 2.02 points to 2,021.91.