Singapore stocks close lower on Tuesday; STI down 0.7%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) ended 21.53 points or 0.7 per cent lower at 3,068.12 points amid weakened sentiment on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 271 to 206 for the day, with 1.99 billion shares worth S$1.32 billion changing hands.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that markets are likely to remain volatile for the rest of the week until the release of US non-farm payrolls statistics on Friday gives more clarity on the Federal Reserve's taper.

"Asian equity markets have followed US markets south today, with US fiscal policy encompassing the debt ceiling and the soon to be trimmed US$3.5 trillion spending plan fraying nerves, although oddly, US yields edged higher overnight," he said.

The biggest gainer on the STI was Sats, which went up 1.4 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$4.22.

At the bottom of the STI's performance table was Mapletree Logistics Trust, whose units fell 3 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$1.96.

The trio of banks all saw declines. DBS shares fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to close at S$30.23; while OCBC shares declined by 0.7 per cent, or S$0.08, to close at S$11.50. UOB shares closed down 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to close at S$25.95.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down 2.2 per cent or 622.77 points to close at 27,822.12; while Seoul's Kospi fell 1.9 per cent or 57.01 points to close at 2,962.17; and the Jakarta composite index fell 0.9 per cent or 54.64 points to close at 6,288.05. However, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 0.5 per cent or 7.95 points to close at 1,530.42; while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 per cent or 67.78 points to close at 24,104.15