SINGAPORE shares resumed trading on Wednesday afternoon in negative territory, with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.5 per cent or 12.41 points on the day to 2,492.35 as at 1.04pm.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 226 to 129, after about 756 million securities worth S$595 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume as at 1.05pm, Sembcorp Marine fell 8.8 per cent or 1.7 Singapore cents to 17.6 cents, with 84.6 million shares traded. Meanwhile, Sembcorp Industries slumped 38.7 per cent or S$0.74 to S$1.17 with 36.8 million shares changing hands.

Banking stocks also faltered by the afternoon trade. DBS shed 0.9 per cent or S$0.19 to S$20.46, UOB lost 1.1 per cent or S$0.22 to S$19.23, while OCBC slipped 0.6 per cent or S$0.05 to S$8.55 as at 1.05pm.

Other active index counters include Wilmar International, which dropped 1.4 per cent or S$0.06 to S$4.32, and Venture Corporation, which gained 3.5 per cent or S$0.65 to S$19.40 as at 1.05pm after opening lower in early morning trade.

Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares fell on Wednesday and oil prices hit lows not seen since June, after a rout of technology shares sank Wall Street for a third consecutive day, and a major drugmaker delayed testing of a Covid-19 vaccine.

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MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.1 per cent. Australian stocks slid 2.2 per cent, hitting a five-week low on the US tech rout, with the S&P/ASX 200 index falling 2.4 per cent to 5,866.1 by 0030 GMT. Shares in China lost 1.2 per cent, while in Japan, the Nikkei dropped 1.7 per cent.

As the tech-fuelled sell-off hit Wall Street, observers say investors are looking to the options markets. For now, few investors appear eager to buy the dip, which has sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 10 per cent from its highs.

JP Morgan Asset Management global market strategist Kenny Craig said selling pressure is a little broader as the concerns over the tech sector are extending across broader markets and impacting risk sentiment. The fall in the oil price and negative Brexit headlines are also contributing factors, he added.

"The rise in safe havens, such as the US dollar, Japanese yen and gold, is further evidence of more defensive investor positioning. However, broad pillars of support for the equity market remain intact," Mr Craig said.

He added that markets may "move sideways rather than up" in the coming months, given the near-term event risk, elevated valuations, and concentration of returns in the US equity market.