Singapore shares close 18 points lower on Tuesday

THE shaky start to the US markets this week spilled over to Asian bourses, with Singapore shares closing lower on the first day of trading after the Chinese New Year weekend.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 18.05 points or 0.59 per cent to end Tuesday's session at 3,046.80, reversing from its intraday high of 3,056.32, dragged down largely by index movers DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and Singtel, which were in the red.

Turnover was 1.3 billion units worth S$1.1 billion, similar to earlier weeks' S$1.1 billion daily average, with 215 losers outnumbering 192 gainers.