Singapore equities fell for a second session on Wednesday, dragged lower by lenders such as DBS Group amid caution ahead of the testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Asian shares edged higher, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.4 percent.
Chair Janet Yellen will submit Federal Reserve's semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress later today. Her testimony will provide clues on when the central bank would tighten U.S. monetary policy.
At 0536 GMT, the Straits Times Index fell 0.38 percent or 12 points to 3,206. It ended 0.85 percent lower on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date gains to 11.7 percent.
Among the losers, United Overseas Bank fell 0.2 percent, DBS Group declined 0.8 percent while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp lost 0.7 percent.
Shares of United Engineers, Perennial and Yanlord were halted from Singapore trading on Wednesday.
Yanlord Land Group is partnering with Perennial Real Estate Holdings in a bid for Singapore property group United Engineers, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
Commodity trader Noble Group rose for a second session, gaining nearly 2 percent after Goldilocks Investment Company raised its stake in the firm.
About 1.3 billion shares worth S$511 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 175 to 155.
