SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks opened lower on Tuesday morning following overnight tumble on Wall Street.

The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) fell 41.69 points to 2,735.29 within the first minutes of trading.

Some 26.4 million shares exchanged hands, with losers beating gainers 90 to 17.

STI closed lower on Monday, declining 0.73 per cent to 2,776.98.

Wall Street stocks also ended sharply lower on Monday as jitters re-emerged over the financial health of mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, triggering fresh fears about a persistent US credit crunch.

Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's shares fell sharply as concerns about the ailing financial sector were rekindled, in part by weekend media reports that raised concerns about the mortgage-finance giants' stressed finances.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 180.51 points (1.55 per cent) to end at 11,479.39.

The tech-rich Nasdaq composite lost 35.54 points (1.45 per cent) to 2,416.98, while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 19.60 points (1.51 per cent) to close at 1,278.60.

- CNA/yb