"The corporate reporting season is coming to an end, the budget didn't lift the market and most of the economic indicators are out, so investors don't see anything boosting the market in the near future," Fraser-AMMB research director Najeeb Jarhom said.
However, Najeeb said he did not see the start of a prolonged phase of selling for the market, but a short-term consolidation.
The market also took a hit following a statement by listed Accord Customer Care Solutions Ltd (ACCS) that the police commercial affairs department had launched an investigation into its activities.
The statement did not disclose the reasons for the probe.
ACCS requested a trading halt at in the afternoon pending an announcement. It finished the morning session at 72 Singapore cents, unchanged from Monday's close. Venture Corp extended falls after it reported a 2004 net profit of 207 million dollars, down 14 percent from the previous year. The stock declined 60 cents to 15.40.
Other technology stocks were weaker, with Creative down 50 cents to 20.20, UTAC down four cents to 6.55 cents and Chartered Semiconductor down five cents to 1.15 dollars.
Among the blue chips, ST Engineering shed five cents to 2.40 and Singapore Press Holdings dropped four cents to 4.52, while Singapore Airlines fell 10 cents to 12.30. Of the banking stocks, DBS closed flat at 15.60, having fallen in the four previous sessions, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp fell 20 cents to 13.60 and United Overseas Bank lost 30 cents to 14.00.
Singapore Telecommunications continued to buck the broader market's downward trend, rising three cents to 2.66, extending gains after announcing the sale of four of its properties to Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust for a total of 316.3 million dollars.