Up to 1.1 billion shares exchanged hands.

gainers outweighed losers 299 to 270.

Rising issues led decliners 299 to 270 with 986 stocks unchanged.

'The Asian markets have been consolidating towards the end of last week, which probably helped alleviate further selling pressure today,' said Lorraine Tan, equity strategist at Standard and Poor?s.

Market sentiment remained cautious after oil prices spiked above 126 dollars a barrel on Friday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average sharply lower.

Banking shares were mixed, with DBS Group rising 12 cents to 20.10 dollars, United Overseas Bank down 22 cents at 20.34 dollars and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp five cents lower at 8.78 dollars.

Property heavyweights ended higher, with CapitaLand gaining 19 cents to 6.69 dollars, City Developments up eight cents at 11.60 dollars and Keppel Land advancing three cents to 5.83 dollars.

Singapore Airlines gained 12 cents to 15.66 dollars and Singapore Telecommunications was steady at 3.71 dollars. -- AFP