Singapore stocks fell for a fourth straight session yesterday, with sentiment dampened by a mix of external factors, including a softer earnings season, falling crude oil prices and rising US interest rates.

The recent earnings season has failed to deliver much in the way of positive surprises, said CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) was the latest large cap to report tumbling earnings. It reported after Tuesday's market close that the 81 per cent fall in its second-quarter earnings was caused by a mix of higher jet fuel costs and recognition of its share of losses in 20 per cent-owned Virgin Australia.

Maybank Kim Eng and DBS Group Research both put out "hold" calls on SIA at similar target prices of $9.42.

SIA's counter closed at $9.41 yesterday, down 0.11 per cent.

Externally, the global economic outlook for next year is softening, and the Asia-Pacific has started to see negative earnings revisions and decelerated top-line growth, Ms Yang said, adding that several institutions have warned of a slower pace of growth in the coming quarters.

Across Asia, it was another day of mixed trading as regional equities took cues from US indices overnight, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending lower on Tuesday and the Nasdaq ending flat.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 ended 0.16 per cent higher on short-covering in electronics component makers and tech shares, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.15 per cent on falling oil prices.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.54 per cent lower and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.85 per cent.

At home, the key Straits Times Index ended 10.41 points, or 0.34 per cent, down at 3,043.19, with major counters slipping across the board.

Keppel Corp shed 1.43 per cent to $6.19, and City Developments fell 1.91 per cent to $8.23.

Losers outnumbered gainers 223 to 146, on turnover of some 1.81 billion shares worth $1.03 billion.