SINGAPORE - Shares fell on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) closing 8.8 points or 0.3 per cent lower at 3,292.15.

Some 1.1 billion shares worth $951.6 million shares exchanged hands.

The top volume counter was International Healthway Corporation, which saw 65.2 million shares traded. It closed flat at 27.5 cents.

News of the trading link between Hong Kong and Shanghai stole the thunder from Singapore, as investors flocked to Hong Kong, said remisier Alvin Yong.

Stocks here fell despite record highs recorded overnight on Wall Street, which saw both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 reaching peaks for four straight sessions.

That helped most Asian bourses to end in positive territory: Tokyo added 2.1 per cent, Seoul gained 0.2 per cent and Hong Kong was up 0.3 per cent.

But Shanghai fell 0.2 per cent and Sydney lost 0.1 per cent.