Singapore stocks: STI resumes Wednesday afternoon down 0.09% on day

SINGAPORE stocks resumed trading on Wednesday afternoon slightly down, with the Straits Times Index losing 0.09 per cent or 3.02 points on the day to 3,244.15 as at 1.04pm.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 203 to 142, after about 1.18 billion securities worth S$439.9 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Medtecs International Corporation gained 0.8 Singapore cent or 8.7 per cent to S$0.10, with 106.3 million shares traded. AsiaMedic lost 0.1 Singapore cent or 5.6 per cent to S$0.017, with 99.9 million shares traded. P5 Capital held steady at S$0.035, with 70.6 million shares traded.

Banking stocks were mostly positive by the afternoon trade. DBS gained 11 Singapore cents or 0.4 per cent to S$26.41, UOB gained one Singapore cent or 0.04 per cent to S$26.49. Both banks were recognised in the recent 2020 edition of Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index launched on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, OCBC fell two Singapore cents or 0.2 per cent to S$11.10.

Other active securities included Singtel, which gained one Singapore cent or 0.3 per cent to S$3.28, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings which fell one Singapore cent or 0.9 per cent to S$1.09.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5 per cent by mid-morning. Other markets traded more favourably and the MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5 per cent. Tokyo added 0.5 per cent by the break, Hong Kong added 0.6 per cent, Sydney rose 0.8 per cent and Seoul gained 0.4 per cent.