SINGAPORE shares fell on Friday tracking a broader decline in regional markets, with sentiment remaining cautious amid the spread of Covid-19 in the region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.5 per cent or 17.31 points to close at 3,165.49 on Friday. For the week, the index fell 0.4 per cent snapping a six-week winning streak

Elsewhere in Asia, stocks in Japan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea finished lower on Friday, with major indices declining between 0.1 and 1.2 per cent.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note that government virus containment measures across China - including at the Ningbo port - and the "now ever-present threat of government regulatory action", were weighing on China equity markets. He noted that Singapore markets, with its high beta to China, had also fallen.

Among the STI counters, OCBC was the largest decliner on Friday, with its shares falling 2.6 per cent or S$0.32 to close at S$11.97, as the stock went ex-dividend. Other top decliners included Wilmar International, and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which fell 1.6 and 1.4 per cent respectively.

For the week, shares of OCBC and Dairy Farm International were the top decliners, each falling 3.6 per cent.

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Singtel shares gained 0.8 per cent on Friday to close at S$2.39, finishing second on the STI performance table, behind City Developments. For the week, Singtel was up 4.8 per cent - the top STI performer - after it posted on Thursday a net profit of S$445 million for its first quarter, reversing the previous year's net loss.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 251 to 216 on Friday, after 1.47 billion securities worth S$1.18 billion changed hands.