Singapore's share prices ended 2.33% lower on Tuesday, in line with most Asian peers.

The falls followed sharp losses on the Wall Street overnight and a worse-than-expected manufacturing activity report from China.

China's purchasing managers index fell to 50.4 in October, below the 52.2 recorded in September.

In addition, markets retreated after last week's optimism about Europe's sovereign debt crisis as doubts have surfaced over Greece's willingness to accept the European Union's bailout plan following the nation's surprise call for a referendum on the issue.

Singapore's blue-chip Straits Times Index closed 66.42 points lower at 2,789.35.

In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 380 to 112. Overall volume traded was 1.42 billion shares.

Among the losers, Sembcorp Marine slumped 7.8% to end at S$3.89 while Keppel Corp shed 5.2% to close at S$9.00 because of fears that uncertainties in Europe will continue to drag on global markets and dampen crude oil prices. Read More

Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 2.3 percent to 2,789.35 at the close. Six stocks fell for each that rose in the index of 30 companies.

The following shares were among the most active in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company names.

Commodity suppliers: The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, which tracks prices of 19 commodities ranging from copper to corn, fell 1 percent in New York yesterday, extending losses for a second day.

Noble Group Ltd. (NOBL SP), a Hong Kong-based commodities supplier, sank 4.8 percent to S$1.48. 

Olam International Ltd. (OLAM SP), a Singapore-based trader of agricultural commodities, decreased 3.1 percent to S$2.47.

CapitaMall Trust (CT SP), Singapore’s biggest retail property trust, tumbled 4.5 percent to S$1.79 after a discounted stock sale. The company raised S$250 million ($197 million) by selling shares at S$1.79 each in a placement.

CHT Holdings Ltd. (CHT SP), a supplier of adhesive tape, surged 90 percent to 17.1 Singapore cents. CHT said YongLe Tape Ltd. offered to buy the company out for 18 Singapore cents per share.

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. (NOL SP), Southeast Asia’s biggest container carrier, dropped 5.3 percent to S$1.08. The company posted a third-straight quarterly loss because of falling freight rates and higher fuel costs. The shipping line said it expects to post a full year loss. Read More

Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.7 percent to 2,855.77 at the close, its first decline in six days. Almost four stocks dropped for each that rose in the index of 30 companies. The gauge advanced 6.8 percent this month, the most since July 2009.

The following shares were among the most active in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company names.

Otto Marine Ltd. (OTML SP) declined 3.6 percent to 13.4 Singapore cents. The shipbuilder said it expects to report a third-quarter loss because of volatility in the currency market and lower revenue from unit Reflect Geophysical Pte., which operates ships that seek oil and gas under the sea floor.

Singapore Post Ltd. (SPOST), operator of the city’s postal services, slipped 2.4 percent to S$1.025. The company said second-quarter net income declined 23 percent to S$30.6 million ($24.6 million) from a year earlier.

SMRT Corp. (MRT SP), the biggest commuter-train operator in the city-state, decreased 2.7 percent to S$1.84. The company said second-quarter net income fell 26 percent to S$34.1 million from a year earlier.

Wilmar International Ltd. (WIL SP), the world’s largest palm-oil processor, gained 1.3 percent to S$5.47. The company said it increased the size of a syndicated term loan facility announced in November to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion Read More

the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) has risen 8.6 per cent for the month, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shot up 13.8 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite Index is 4.8 per cent higher.

Last week marked the second straight week that emerging market funds registered fresh cash infusion, as investors stock up on equities in anticipation of the traditional year-end market rally. Read More

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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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Singapore shares fell by midday on Monday as investors booked profits after an almost 7 percent rally last week prompted by progess in Europe's debt deal, with most closely watching the plan knowing the crisis was far from over.

At 0500 GMT, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 1.35 percent, or 39.6 points, at 2,866.12. Around 855.5 million shares worth S$777.1 million were traded, compared with 1.23 billion shares worth S$1.2 billion on Friday.

Asian shares fell and precious metals slipped as the dollar spiked to a three-month high against the yen following Japan's intervention in the currency markets.

MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan retreated 1.71 percent, after posting its best week in nearly three years.

"We need to consider whether the previous week's rally was really warranted. I think there was a lot of short-covering," said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

Some of the Singapore stocks that posted heavy losses on Monday were commodities firm Noble Group , rig builder Sembcorp Marine and palm oil producer Golden Agri-Resources .

Golden Agri fell 5.9 percent by midday to S$0.64, while Sembcorp Industrise dropped 5.2 percent to S$4.23.

Shares of casino operator Genting Singapore fell as much as 3.4 percent after surging last Friday on improved sentiment about the gaming market size in the city-state following the strong third-quarter results of rival Marina Bay Sands.

"I think it's mostly profit-taking. Genting's results will be out in two weeks' time, so the market is still a little bit divided about whether they continue to lose the share in the VIP market to MBS," Wong said.

"But we continue to believe in a stronger overall market in Singapore...As long as the whole market is growing, we are not too worried," he added.

Shares of Singapore-listed China Dairy Group surged 35 percent after Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N) said it had agreed to sell its entire 29.5 percent stake in the company for nearly three times the Friday closing price. Read More

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The support zone I highlighted last week had indeed stopped the free fall. Now, there are signs of a rebound, and a lot of people have been asking me if this rally is sustainable or simply a bull trap. Looking at the price action, we can see that the big players have been shaking out the weak holders via a climatic selling campaign. At this point, most people would be unable to bear the pain and simply bite the bullet and cut their losses. Unfortunately, this is actually the worst time to be selling because a rebound always follows a climatic sell-off!

Singapore shares rose 0.7 percent by midday on Monday in line with other Asian bourses, as investors picked up blue chip names with attractive dividend yields such as transport operator ComfortDelGro and StarHub .

However, gains in the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) are likely to be capped at 2,900 points as investors remain cautious on concerns that the U.S. economy may slip into another recession.

At 0500 GMT, the STI was up 0.69 percent, or 19.60 points, at 2,870.19. The total volume of shares traded by then was 664.3 million shares and turnover was S$802.5 million.

This compares with the volume of 1.1 billion shares and turnover of S$1.2 billion on Friday.

"The markets look oversold, so this is more of a technical rebound. We continue to advise investors to look at oversold blue chips especially with defensive earnings and good dividends," said Carey Wong, an investment analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

He expects the STI to see more volatile trading in the 2,800-2,900 band in the near future.

"We don't see a sustainable recovery, the market would still be quite volatile going forward. As a whole, manufacturing in the U.S. is still not doing well and consumer sentiment is still down," Wong said.

ComfortDelgro shares were 4.4 percent higher at S$1.315 after it reported resilient earnings despite increased cost pressures, and as investors bought its shares for a 4.4 percent dividend yield ahead of its ex-dividend date on Aug 18.

Kim Eng Securities also upgraded ComfortDelGro to buy from hold with a target price of S$1.58.

Telecommunications firm StarHub , whose ex-dividend is also on the same date, rose 2.6 percent to S$2.75. It has a dividend yield of 7.5 percent.

However, casino operator Genting Singapore lost 2.9 percent after it reported a double-digit fall in earnings for the second quarter and lost market share to rival Marina Bay Sands.

Palm oil firm Mewah International plunged 12.6 percent to S$0.52 after it announced weak quarterly earnings that prompted several brokerages to downgrade its rating.

JPMorgan downgraded the company to neutral from outperform and cut its target price to S$0.60 from S$1.30. Read More