Singapore shares inch down; ComfortDelGro leads losses

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore stocks fell on Wednesday, with the index weighed down by heavy losses in shares of transport company ComfortDelgro, as the broader Asian market stalled on Wall Street gloom.

The benchmark Straits Times Index was down 0.3 per cent at 3,256.64 by midday, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.2 per cent.

Shares of ComfortDelGro retreated from 7-year highs reached on Tuesday, dropping 3.9 per cent to $2.29 and pulling down an already subdued market. The stock surged 3.9 per cent on Tuesday on talk of a rail financing review to be discussed in the Singapore parliament.

Rival transport operator SMRT dropped 3.7 per cent to an intra-day low of $1.42, after soaring as much as 12.4 per cent on Tuesday.

Among other stocks, Sembcorp Marine rose 1 per cent to S$3.99, after the offshore drilling rig builder secured a $236 million contract to build a jack-up rig for Hercules North Sea.

OCBC maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock, with a target price of $4.90.

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