Singapore blue chips fell on Thursday on continuing concerns over the budget talks in the United States.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 14.27 points or 0.4 per cent to 3,194.31. That marked the fifth straight session of declines for local large-caps, although some of the STI's falls in this period have been very slight.

The last time the index gained was last Thursday, when it leapt 57.93 points on news that the US central bank was keeping its money-printing intact.

The subsequent five days of losses have shaved off almost all the gains from that one-day jump.

With blue chips headed south, traders once again focused their attention on low-cost punts. Some 5.28 billion units were traded but these were worth only $1.17 billion, showing much of the market action was involving penny stocks.

Ipco International topped the list of actives for the second day running, as 583 million shares changed hands. The stock slipped 0.5 cent or 11.4 per cent to 3.9 cents as it gave up some of Wednesday's rise of one cent.