Singapore shares close weaker

THE Straits Times Index spent most of Thursday tracking movements in the Dow futures first and Hong Kong second, finishing the day a net 5.88 points weaker at 3,342.92 mainly due to weakness in the three banks.

Turnover amounted to 2.1 billion units worth S$1.2 billion and excluding warrants, there were 206 rises versus 243 falls throughout.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday closed above 22,000 for the first time ever but this failed to stir much response here - not surprisingly, given that the STI had already risen on Wednesday in anticipation of a firm session for US stocks that day.

"The Dow's record was mainly because of Apple's earnings and wasn't that broad-based,'' remarked a dealer here. "This narrowness could be a concern for some investors.'' At 5pm, the Dow futures was down 15 points.