Singapore shares fell on Monday, following the release of what turned out to be soft jobs data from the United States last Friday.

The keenly-watched monthly figures showed that US employers slowed down hiring in July, although the unemployment rate also fell.

Asian markets were weaker in response, with Singapore's Straits Times Index falling 12.34 points or 0.38 per cent to 3,241.79.

Decliners included SingTel, which dropped nine cents or 2.3 per cent to $3.85. The stock went ex-dividend on Monday, which means it started trading without its latest dividend of 10 cents per share.

Volumes were muted across the market. Some 2 billion shares worth $751 million changed hands, lower than last Friday's figure of 2.1 billion shares worth $1.18 billion.