Singapore share prices closed down 0.29 percent on Wednesday as players consolidated positions, dealers said. They said sentiment was dented by Wall Street's fall on Tuesday sparked by rising concern over the possibility that the US Federal Reserve may again hike interest rates.
The Straits Times Index ended 10.32 points lower at 3,551.22 on volume of 4.28 billion shares worth 2.31 billion dollars (1.5 billion US). Losers beat gainers 425 to 381, while 669 issues were unchanged. "We've had a decent rally and investors are taking some profit here and there, or staying on the sidelines," a local brokerage dealer said.
Most blue chips were lower following recent gains. Singapore Telecommunications declined 0.08 to 3.38 and Singapore Airlines was flat at 18.50. Fraser and Neave gained 0.10 to 5.60. Among banking stocks, DBS Group fell 0.30 at 23.30, United Overseas Bank was flat at 23.10 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp fell 0.05 to 9.40. In the property sector, CapitaLand fell 0.05 to 7.95, Keppel Land was 0.15 lower at 9.05 and City Developments was flat at 17.40.
The technology sector was mixed, with Venture Corp unchanged at 15.90, United Test and Assembly Centre rising 0.03 to 1.04. Creative Technology dropped 0.30 to 8.00. Smalls caps were among the most actively traded stocks. China Aviation Oil rose 0.31 to 2.25 on speculation the company will announce a capital restructuring plan. Genting International was flat at 0.940 and Thai Beverage was unchanged at 0.270.