Singapore shares fell after four sessions of gains on Thursday, with financials such as Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and DBS Group accounting for most of the losses.
Asian shares edged higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve's comments tempered prospects for future tightening. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.45 percent
Later in the day, the European Central Bank is expected to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases. Comments on the outlook for 2018 will be the focus for investors as they weigh the impact of coming policy normalization on global asset prices.
At 0520 GMT, the Straits Times Index lost 1.01 percent or 35 points to 3,433. It ended 0.09 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 20 percent.
Shares of United Overseas Bank were down 1 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking fell 2 percent while DBS Group Holdings declined 1.4 percent.
Real estate developer Oxley Holdings fell 1.6 percent. The company purchased Chevron House for S$660 million, along with a local property developer Centra Cove for US$12 million.
But ESR Real Estate Investment Trust gained 0.9 percent after it acquired an 80 percent stake in a special purpose vehicle that owns a leasehold interest in 7000 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 property in Singapore for S$240 million.
About 721 million shares worth S$492 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 157 to 123.
