Singapore stocks edged lower on Tuesday, dragged down by lenders such as DBS Group Holdings while trading across Asia was positive as Japan, Korea markets reopened after holidays.
Asian shares rose, shrugging off modest losses on Wall Street. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5 percent.
Japan's Nikkei stock index reversed early losses and gained 0.4 percent, as markets reopened after a public holiday on Monday. Seoul markets were closed last week and on Monday for public holidays.
At 0415 GMT, the Straits Times Index fell 0.24 percent or 8 points to 3,283. It ended 0.01 percent higher on Monday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 14 percent.
United Overseas Bank dropped 0.3 percent, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp lost about 1 percent and DBS Group Holdings dropped 0.7 percent.
Engineering services provider Boustead Projects advanced 1.2 percent after its unit Boustead Projects E&C Pte secured S$56 million of contracts in Singapore.
Real estate investment trust SPH REIT Management rose 0.5 percent after reporting an increase in fourth-quarter distribution per unit and gross revenue.
About 822 million shares worth S$422 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 201 to 144.
