Share prices on the Singapore bourse fell for the fourth straight day with the benchmark Straits Times Index finishing 11.74 points or 0.4 per cent lower at 3,123.75.

Most of the other bourses in the region except for China also saw red. The sell-off was partly led by heavy overnight losses on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3 per cent, Australia's ASX 200 lost 1.5 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.4 per cent. The Shanghai Composite in China bucked the trend, rising 0.9 per cent.

CMC Markets analyst Mr Desmond Chua attributed the decline in US equities on Monday night, which was the steepest in two months, to "lofty valuations" and nerves over the tapering in the United States.

In the absence of fresh catalysts, that was enough to keep traders away from the local bourse, which suffered another lacklustre trading session. Some 2.73 billion shares worth $943.1 million were done.

Losers outpaced gainers 217 to 151, while 420 counters were unchanged.