Singapore shares closed 0.88 percent lower on Tuesday after a rally sparked by the US government's bailout of two ailing mortgage giants fizzled out, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) fell 23.82 points to 2,673.21 on volume of 746.44 million shares worth 1.02 billion Singapore dollars (713 million US).
Declining stocks outpaced gainers 338 to 157, with 862 issues steady. Traders said the STI was likely to remain weak in coming sessions as the US government's bailout of mortgage firms Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will likely only provide a temporary respite from global economic uncertainty.
"There is still a lot of investor apathy," a dealer at a local brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires. Among the banks, DBS fell 10 cents to 18.10, United Overseas Bank rose 22 cents to 19.22 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dipped seven cents to 8.00.
Property counters were also down. CapitaLand tumbled 14 cents to 4.26, Keppel Land was off seven cents to 3.53 and City Developments lost 10 cents to 9.66. Shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines declined 11 cents to 2.12 but Singapore Airlines climbed 10 cents to 15.60 and Singapore Telecom advanced one cent to 3.47.
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