Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.33 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.33 percent lower on Wednesday, as investors were reluctant to take fresh positions after Wall Street retreated overnight.

U.S. stocks fell overnight due to weakness in European stocks amid continuing concerns about Greece's standoff with its creditors, steep stock declines in China on Tuesday and uncertainty heading into Friday's U.S. jobs report.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 11.40 points to close at 3,459.79 points. Trading volume was 1.31 billion shares worth 1.23 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 258 to 175, while 512 stocks closed unchanged.

Voyage Research said Straits Times Index may extend its losing streak as the ongoing situation in Greece also generated some selling pressure.

Q&M Dental Group fell 1.3 percent to 77.5 Singapore cents. It is exploring a possible spin-off of its subsidiaries, Q&M Dental Holdings (China) (QDHC) and Q&M Dental Group (Malaysia), (QDGM) via a listing on a reputable Stock Exchange. QDHC is in the business of operating dental hospitals and clinics in the People's Republic of China while QDGM is in the business of operating dental clinics and a dental supplies and equipment distribution company in Malaysia.

Osim International closed flat at 2.42 Singapore dollars. The lifestyle product retailer reported first quarter net profit plunged 53 percent to 13.5 million Singapore dollars, missing market consensus expectations by over 10 percent. Its sales in the first quarter were below 150 million Singapore dollars for the first time in 10 quarters, and costs were bloated by two legal disputes. CIMB Research downgrades the stock to hold and cuts its price target to 1.93 Singapore dollars from 2.06 Singapore dollars on the company's "terribly poor sales performance."

Among the top gainers, DBS Group rose 0.7 percent to 20.85 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Strategic dropped 1 percent to 34. 51 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.33 Singapore dollars) Endi