Singapore stocks extended falls into a fourth session on Friday as weak Asian cues sapped investor's risk appetite.
In Asia, stocks fell while safe havens suc as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc gained amidst possibility of North Korea conducting another hydrogen bomb test.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on Friday he believes the North could consider a nuclear test on an "unprecedented scale" in the Pacific Ocean, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan handed back earlier gains and was down 0.4 percent after falling 0.7 percent the previous day.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent, snapping a four-day winning streak. The Dow fell 0.25 percent and Nasdaq dropped 0.5 percent as the U.S. equity market braced for a third interest rate hike this year.
At 0450 GMT, the Straits Times Index edged up 0.05 percent or 2 points to 3,215 after shedding as much as 0.4 percent to their lowest in a week earlier in the session. It ended 0.04 percent lower on Thursday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 12 percent.
Financial and real estate stocks were among the biggest losers, with DBS Group Holdings, the city-state's top lender, declining 0.1 percent and CapitaLand Trust shedding 1.2 percent.
Food catering firm Neo Group said it entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement to buy shares in ER Marketing and Ever Rich. Its shares fell 0.7 percent.
Property developer SingHaiyi Group-led joint venture has won tender for the purchase of Sun Rosier condominium in Singapore at S$271 million. The stock was down 0.8 percent.
About 875 million shares worth S$615 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 174 to 131.
