Local shares closed lower yesterday to mark a second week in the red amid a decline across the region.
The uncertain sentiment left the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.6 per cent or 17.78 points at 2,902.52 and 3 per cent or 89.01 points off for the week.
"The mood has become quite gloomy on vaccinations, which may not be surprising, given we are in the pandemic's darkest time so far," said Mr Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi.
But he added that the big picture on the market outlook does not change, with "an unprecedented amount of monetary and fiscal stimulus, a structural shift towards much more spending, a potentially unmatched economic rebound, and a reasonable chance of inflation for the first time in several decades".
Losers beat gainers 294 to 208, with 2.82 billion shares worth $1.89 billion changing hands.
Mapletree Industrial Trust was the top STI performer, climbing 1.4 per cent to $2.87. Keppel DC Reit, which also finished in the black, was the top gainer for the week.
Keppel Corp was at the bottom of the performance table for the day and week. It plunged 8.2 per cent to $5.01 after unveiling a plan on Thursday to exit the rig business and pivot to clean energy.
Sembcorp Marine, also a rig builder, was the third most actively traded with 170 million shares done. It fell 4.6 per cent to 14.5 cents.
iFast Corporation jumped 9.3 per cent to $5.51. DBS Group Research raised its target price to $6.40 on Thursday on the view that there is more room for growth in the firm's assets under administration.
Key indices elsewhere also fell. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 1.9 per cent, the ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.6 per cent, Seoul's Kospi slid 3 per cent and the Hang Seng retreated 0.9 per cent.
