Singapore stocks bucked strong Asia trend on Tuesday, hurt by losses in financials and energy shares.
Asian shares advanced after U.S. stocks started the fourth quarter on a strong note on Monday, with all three major indexes hitting record high closes as data pointed to underlying strength in the economy.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.4 percent higher, clawing back losses from earlier in the Asian day.
At 0500 GMT, the Straits Times Index lost 0.74 percent or 24 points to 3,237. It ended 1.31 percent higher on Monday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 13 percent.
United Overseas Bank Ltd and Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd slipped 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. Oil rig builder Keppel Corporation fell 1.4 percent.
Singapore's Sembcorp Industries is planning to list its Indian unit, Mint newspaper reported on Tuesday. The stock was down about 1 percent.
Among the gainers, HG Metal Manufacturing rose nearly 1 percent after saying it would sell its 23 percent stake in steel mesh maker BRC Asia following an open letter by activist investment fund Quarz Capital.
Singapore-based electronics firm Creative Technology advanced 1.3 percent after its unit ZiiLabs Inchas filed a patent infringement lawsuit against American microprocessors firm Nvidia Corp.
About 1.1 billion shares worth S$500 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 186 to 170.
