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Reuters

Singapore stocks fell on Thursday, in line with weak Asian shares as investors took a pause after equities surged to the highest level in almost 10 years.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.6 percent, with South Korea's tech-heavy Kospi index on course to drop 1.6 percent.

At 0550 GMT, the Straits Times Index lost 0.31 percent or 10 points to 3,338. It ended 0.32 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date gains to 16 percent.

Index heavyweight DBS, which reports earnings on Friday, fell 0.2 percent. Sembcorp Industries dropped 0.6 percent ahead of results on Thursday.

Telecoms service provider StarHub fell 1.5 percent after reporting a 21 percent fall in second-quarter net profit, hurt by lower revenue from voice, roaming services and pay TV.

Food and beverage maker BreadTalk Group reported a near 62 percent jump in second-quarter profit powered by an increase in other income and reduced expenses. The stock was down 3 percent.

Realty company CapitaLand on Thursday reported a 97 percent surge in second-quarter profit, helped by higher revaluation gains from investment properties in Singapore and China, coupled with portfolio gains. Its shares fell 0.8 percent.

Far East Orchard, a diversified real estate developer, fell 1.6 percent after posting a 97.3 percent slump in second-quarter profit due to the absence of a one-time gain from sale of units and lower profits from the hospitality assets in Australia.

Among the gainers, shares in casino operator Genting Singapore advanced 1.3 percent after its second-quarter net profit surged nine times from last year, powered by improved performance of its gaming business and stake sale in a project in South Korea.

About 1.2 billion shares worth S$607 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 199 to 170.

Investors will also be keeping a close eye on data, including the Bank of England on Thursday, where it is likely to leave rates unchanged and U.S. jobs data on Friday.