SINGAPORE - Singapore shares edged down on Tuesday (Sept 17) after US and Europe trading sessions overnight reacted negatively to weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities. The Straits Times Index lost 4.21 points or 0.13 per cent to 3,199.72 as at 9.03am.
About 44.6 million shares worth about $45.2 million changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of about $1.01 per share.
Gainers outnumbered losers 46 to 42.
The most actively traded security was Tee International, which jumped $0.008 or 22.9 per cent to $0.043 after controlling shareholder Phua Chian Kin entered into a binding term sheet to sell a 23 per cent stake for a total of $9 million in cash.
Other actives included Singapore eDevelopment Limited, which was up $0.001 or 2.4 per cent to $0.042 after 4.7 million shares changed hands.
Rex International was also up $0.001 or 1.2 per cent to $0.088 after 4.3 million shares were traded.
Among financials, DBS lost ground to its fellow lenders, down $0.06 or 0.2 per cent to $25.41, while UOB was up $0.05 or 0.2 per cent to $26.39 and OCBC gained $0.01 or 0.1 per cent to $11.09.
Another active index stock was Singtel, which was down $0.01 or 0.3 per cent to $3.20 with about 1.8 million shares changing hands.
Except energy stocks, most of Wall Street fell on Monday after weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities added to investors' concerns about geopolitical risk and a stumbling global economy.
The attacks on the world's biggest crude exporter sent oil prices up more than 20 per cent before they eased, as various nations said they would tap emergency reserves to ensure stable supplies.
The S&P 500 energy index, a gauge of one of the worst performing sectors so far this year, soared 3.3 per cent, its largest one-day gain since January.
Anticipation of higher fuel costs drove down shares of airlines and cruise line operators with the S&P 1500 airlines index shedding 2.1 per cent, while Carnival Corp fell 3.2 per cent.
The S&P 500 retailing index lost 1.4 per cent, with retailers, which would be hurt by higher fuel prices, among the biggest drags on the S&P 500.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.52 per cent to end at 27,076.82 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.31 per cent to 2,997.96. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.28 per cent to 8,153.54.
Oil and gas companies similarly stood out in a gloomy European trade session on Monday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended down 0.6 per cent, ending a four-day winning streak, while trade-sensitive German shares dropped 0.7 per cent.
The weekend's events halted a positive streak for European stocks, which logged their fourth week of gains on Friday as investors moved back into cyclical sectors amid signs of progress in US-China trade talks.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47 per cent or 103.80 points at 21,884.49 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.49 per cent or 7.84 points at 1,602.03.
