Singapore share prices closed 0.25 percent lower on Tuesday on profit taking amid a dearth of fresh leads, dealers said. The Straits Times Index fell 5.66 points to 2,302.88. Volume was 574 million shares worth 537 million Singapore dollars (318 million US), down from 607 million shares valued at 529 million dollars on Monday.
Declines led gains 286 to 163, with 694 stocks unchanged. Investors were reluctant to take fresh positions due partly to the end of the corporate earnings season for the quarter to September and blue chips like Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) were among the losers, dealers said.
"There was isolated trade in selected stocks like SingTel and some tech stocks. However, the market is very quiet with the financial reporting season now over," said Fraser Securities research head Najeeb Jarhom.
SingTel dropped one cent to 2.46 dollars while Singapore Airlines added 10 cents to 11.80.
Banks were mostly flat with but Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp eased five cents to 6.50. In the techs, Creative Technology was unchanged at 13.70, Chartered Semiconductor was steady at 1.19 while Venture was 10 cents firmer at 13.40.
Keppel Land rose four cents to 3.92, CapitaLand was flat at 3.30 while Singapore Land fell 10 cents to 5.20.