Singapore share prices closed 0.33 percent lower on Friday as the bourse tracked losses in the US and some regional markets amid persistent fears US interest rates will go higher, dealers said.
They said trading around the region had proved volatile in the wake of brutal losses which followed the release of worse than expected US inflation data earlier in the week, however, on the day most markets had held up well.
The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 8.20 points to 2,493.98. Volume totalled 1.24 billion shares valued at 1.25 billion Singapore dollars (791 million US).
Despite the fall in the STI, gainers beat losers 329 to 260, with 621 stocks unchanged.
Dealers said the market is likely to fall further in the coming weeks, with a lack of fresh trading cues and a lull anticipated during the World Cup next month.
"There aren't any positive trading catalysts to really push the (market) up to pre-fall levels," a local brokerage dealer said.
"The World Cup will be coming up in the next couple of weeks, so it will possibly trade sideways."
Technical analysts expect the STI to fall through the 2,480-point level before finding support at 2,430 points.
Weighing on the STI was property share City Developments, which was off 0.30 to 9.80. Of other property stocks, CapitaLand shed 0.04 to 4.48, while Keppel Land added 0.06 to 4.58.
Creative Technology fell 0.25 to 9.20 after Apple Computer reportedly filed a counter-suit against the company for alleged infringement of its MP3 music player patents.
Technology share Chartered was up 0.10 to 1.68, while Venture Corp was steady at 12.0.
Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines was down 0.20 to 13.40, Singapore Telecommunications fell 0.02 to 2.62, and Singapore Press Holdings remained at 4.20. ST Engineering gained 0.03 to 2.95.
Lending support to the index was Singapore Petroleum Corp, which was up 0.33, or 6.71 percent, to 5.25 after Merrill Lynch raised its target price for the company to 6.50 following a positive news at its Jeruk field.
Conglomerate Keppel Corp added 0.30 to 14.80 after unit Keppel FELS said it secured a 415 million-dollar contract to build an oil drilling platform from AP Moller-Maersk.