Singapore's key share index ended near a two-week low on Thursday as the spread of bird flu across Asia and Wall Street's sharp losses gave investors an excuse to reduce their stock holdings.
Blue chips stocks like the banks and technology firm Venture Corp were among main losers as sentiment turned bearish on concern the bird flu outbreak sweeping the region may hit the economy if it worsened.
Dealer said there was also some profit-taking going on after the market touched a fresh 34-month high early in the week.
"The escalating bird flu problem is causing concern that there could an economic fallout in the region as a whole," said John Yap, director at brokerage UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd.
"Today's market drop was also a reaction to Wall Street's overnight drop," he added.
The key Straits Times index ended 1.1 percent, or 20.52 points, lower at 1,842.32 - the lowest close since January 16, but still up 4.4 percent since the start of 2004. The index's weakness was in line with falls in the key regional bourses of Japan and South Korea.
Singapore's three banks, seen as proxies to the economy, all ended lower. DBS Group shed 2.53 percent to S$15.40 and United Overseas Bank fell 1.42 percent to S$13.90. OCBC was down 2.4 percent at S$12.20. The three banks account for around 40 percent of the index's weighting.
Venture fell 2.21 percent to S$22.10.
Overall gainers led losers 171 to 141 in the broader market as turnover shrank to 992 million from Wednesday's 1.1 billion.
Hotelier Raffles Holdings surged 27.36 percent to 67.5 Singapore cents on a brisk turnover of some 17.8 million shares after the group surprised investors with a handsome dividend payout.
Raffles Holdings had posted a 20 percent rise in 2003 net profit and said it would return S$416 million ($244.8 million), or 20 Singapore cents a share, to shareholders through dividends and a one-off capital distribution.
ST Assembly Test Services gained 2.18 percent to S$2.34 after the world's fifth-largest chip tester posted a stronger fourth-quarter profit thanks to robust wireless demand, and forecast a five percent rise in first-quarter sales.
Singapore Food Industries, 72-percent controlled by state-owned conglomerate Singapore Technologies, rose 3.4 percent to 76 Singapore cents after the firm posted a 37 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit to S$11.4 million, boosted by earnings at its British operations.
Cerebos Pacific, whose flagship products include Brand's Essence of Chicken, slumped 7.78 percent to S$3.08 on concerns that the bird flu outbreak in Asia would hurt its business and after the stock went ex-dividend on Thursday, dealers said.
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