Singapore share prices closed 0.53 percent lower on Thursday, dragged down by losses in Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) after its results, dealers said.
They said SingTel was the main drag on the market as investors were concerned about its Australian unit SingTel Optus which reported weaker earnings in the September quarter.
The Straits Times Index fell 12.08 points to 2,258.25. Volume totalled 818 million shares worth 795 million Singapore dollars (468 million US), up from 785 million shares valued at 745 million dollars on Wednesday.
There were 184 rising issues, 294 losers and 653 issues were even.
Putting SingTel aside, the market is however seen making gains in the short-term as the fundamentals are looking favourable, dealers said.
"I think going forward, the index will continue to do well as fundamentals are still not too bad," a foreign brokerage dealer said.
SingTel closed five cents lower at 2.35 despite beating expectations with a net profit of 809 million dollars in the three months to September, up 5.7 percent from a year ago.
Its Optus unit however reported an 8.1 percent decline in profits, triggering concerns about how the Australian subsidiary was coping with tougher competition in the domestic market.
Among other blue chips, Singapore Press Holdings fell two cents to 4.42, ST Engineering rose one cent to 2.59 and Singapore Airlines was flat at 11.40.
For the banks, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp ended flat at 6.45, DBS gave up 10 cents to 15.90 and United Overseas Bank added 10 cents to 14.20.
In the technology sector, Chartered Semiconductor was steady at 1.14, Venture was flat at 12.60 and Creative Technology retreated 10 cents to 12.60.
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