SINGAPORE - Singapore shares closed 0.91 percent lower Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses in reaction to disappointing US job data, dealers said.

The main Straits Times Index dropped 21.07 points to 2,299.75. Volume totalled 1.08 billion shares worth S$856 million and there were 144 rising issues, 259 losers while 849 issues were flat.

"We believe investors are looking for confirmation of earnings growth to sustain the market's re-rating over the next 12 months," Nomura brokerage strategist Jit Soon Lim said in a report.

Investor sentiment has also been hit by fresh data showing the US unemployment rate rising to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent as job losses surged to 467,000 in June, dealers said.

Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines fell 40 cents to S$12.80, ST Engineering was off two cents at S$2.44 and Singapore Telecommunications added two cents to S$3.01.

DBS lost six cents to S$11.58, United Overseas Bank fell 24 cents to S$14.26 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp eased two cents to S$6.73.

- AFP/ir