trader
Reuters

Singapore equities edged lower on Thursday, as investors took a pause after benchmark index gained for five consecutive days.

At 0535 GMT, the Straits Times Index fell 0.17 percent or 6 points to 3,319. It ended 0.57 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date gains to 15.4 percent.

Shares of Singapore-listed Rowsley jumped 18 percent. The realty firm stock jumped 99 percent on Wednesday after saying it planned to buy healthcare assets valued at S$1.9 billion from its controlling shareholder, billionaire Peter Lim.

Shares of NetLink NBN Trust, which made a lukewarm debut on the exchange on Wednesday, were little changed for a second day.

Among the losers, Singapore Press Holdings lost 1.7 percent; Genting Singapore shed 0.9 percent and Singapore Airlines dropped 0.7 percent.

About 2 billion shares worth S$653 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 209 to 181.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks climbed for a ninth straight day. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.15 percent, hovering near its highest level since December 2007.