Singapore shares closed lower, looks to KepCorp results for guidance

SINGAPORE shares closed lower on Thursday, as investors took a breather from recent rally, awaiting Keppel Corp's fourth-quarter 2017 results to provide a clearer indication of the health of the oil and gas sector.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI), which opened at 3,609.52, ended at 3,572.64, down 36.6 points, or -1.01 per cent. More than 2.4 billion shares, worth S$1.5 billion, changed hands, with 179 gainers to 296 losers.

Keppel ended at S$8.58, down five Singapore cents, or 0.6 per cent on profit-taking. About five million shares were traded.

Troubled commodities group Noble rallied as much as 21 per cent to 32 Singapore cents on reports that the management has reached an agreement with bondholders and lenders. The stock was trading at 30.5 Singapore cents, up four Singapore cents, or 15 per cent before a halt in trading was requested at 3.26 pm. More than 54 million shares changed hands.