Singapore shares fell for the sixth straight trading day on Thursday, closing 1.51 percent lower as traders looked for fresh leads in a lacklustre market, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index tumbled 34.25 points to 2,237.20 on volume of 1.68 billion shares worth 1.59 billion Singapore dollars (1.09 billion US).
Losers led gainers 363 to 129, with 782 issues unchanged. "This is not a bear rally or a bull correction, it's just the market going sideways," said an analyst with a foreign brokerage. "It could continue to do that for quite a while as investors try to get a handle on what is likely to continue to be a mix of both good and bad economic numbers coming out." Banking shares closed lower. DBS was down 18 cents to 11.50, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp shed 13 cents to 6.65 and United Overseas Bank slipped 24 cents to 14.10.
Among property shares, Capitaland and City Developments fell 13 cents apiece to 3.50 and 8.50, respectively, and Keppel Land eased eight cents to 2.18. Singapore Airlines edged up two cents to 12.48 while Singapore Telecommunications closed seven cents lower at 2.93. Sembcorp Industries gained 11 cents to 3.01 while motor vehicle firm Jardine Cycle and Carriage fell 58 cents to 16.96.