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SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.59 per cent lower on Wednesday on a lack of confidence in the fate of the US economy, dealers said.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed down 26.96 points at 1,665.59 on volume of 1.06 billion shares worth S$1.01 billion dollars (US$661 million). Losers led gainers 285 to 150, with 888 issues unchanged.
Gabriel Gan, head of sales trading at AmFraser Securities, said investors were worried that the US government may not bail out the Big Three automakers.
They are also waiting to see whether the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which finished 1.83 per cent higher overnight, will break below 8,000 points.
"There's a lack of confidence," Gan said.
Both General Motors and Chrysler have warned they could run out of money without immediate assistance from the government but they, along with Ford, face opposition from sceptical lawmakers.
A trader at a Singapore brokerage said "there's a lot of wait and see" in the market at the moment.
Global shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines, which announced it will cut about 1,000 people from its workforce, closed four cents lower at 99 cents.
Singapore Airlines eased 48 cents to S$10.52, Noble Group dropped 13 cents to 74 cents and Olam International also fell 13 cents to 93 cents. Conglomerate Keppel Corp rose nine cents to S$4.49.
In the banking sector, DBS fell 40 cents to S$9.50 and OCBC was down 13 cents at S$4.66, but UOB gained four cents to S$12.00.
- AFP/so
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