STI dips 0.3% on lingering aftershock of US tech rout

THE Singapore bourse continued its downward trajectory on Thursday, with the key Straits Times Index closing 7.24 points or 0.29 per cent lower at 2,492.09, uninspired by Wall Street's overnight bounce as tech's three-day rout in the United States paused.

Other key Asian equity gauges fared mixed, with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia posting gains, while China, Hong Kong and Malaysia closed in the red.

The local bourse's third straight day of falls comes ahead of US weekly jobless claims data, followed by Friday's consumer price index figures and the policy meeting by the European Central Bank. Bank Negara Malaysia kept its historically low rates unchanged as largely expected.