Singapore shares down

Singapore shares closed 0.90 percent lower Tuesday as investors looked for fresh leads to spark buying interest, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 23.88 points to 2,621.55 on volume of 1.28 billion shares worth 1.22 billion Singapore dollars (877 million US). There were 122 rising issues, 388 losers while 749 were even.
"The market seems a bit tired these couple of sessions. We need more direction," said a trader at a bank-backed brokerage. "I wouldn't say I'm cautiously bullish. I'm more bearish at this point." Among the blue chips, Singapore Airlines rose two cents to 13.52 dollars but Singapore Telecommunications was off four cents to 2.92 dollars. DBS Group Holdings fell eight cents to 12.96, United Overseas Bank gained 14 cents to 17.42 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp eased four cents to 7.59.