Singapore shares slipped on Tuesday, led by losses in units of shopping mall owner CapitaMall Trust , as the collapse of U.S. broker MF Global battered sentiment in Asia.

CapitaMall Trust units lost as much as 5.3 percent after it raised S$250 million through a private placement to fund upgrading works and investments on several of its shopping malls.

At 0500 GMT, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.68 percent, or 19.54 points, at 2,836.23. Around 687.2 million shares worth S$583.7 million were traded, compared with the 855.5 million shares worth S$777.1 million that changed hands by the same time on Monday.

Local traders said they expect the STI to find support at 2,780 for the rest of the session.

The fallout from the collapse of MF Global rippled through global exchanges on Tuesday, as operators moved to suspend the U.S. futures broker or limit trades of its customers.

"Uncertainty over the eurozone returned just days after the EU leaders had stayed up all night to hammer out the supposed solution to the debt issues," said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets.

"Add to that the filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by MF Global and the mood around the financial markets was once again extremely hesitant and sombre."

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has called an unexpected referendum on a new EU bailout deal for his debt-ridden country, baffling investors and adding to uncertainty in the markets.

Meanwhile, Italian and Spanish bond yields soared, prompting the European Central Bank to buy the debt, while shares of European banks came under heavy selling pressure.

A slightly weaker-than-expected data from China's purchasing managers' index, which fell to 50.4 last month from September's 51.2 also weighed on investor confidence.

Container shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) fell 2.6 percent to S$1.11 after the company reported a loss much wider than expected in its third quarter hurt by a drop in freight rates, and warned of a possible full year loss.

Chinese property developer Yanlord Land dropped 2.4 percent to S$1.005 by midday, as news China will maintain its property curbs for the rest of the year turned investors more cautious on the sector. Read More

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