More doubts over a trade deal again emerged as the key driver of market mood, with local investors especially spooked yesterday.
The key concern - United States President Donald Trump's apparent unwillingness to roll back tariffs - saw the Straits Times Index (STI) reverse Monday's gains.
The benchmark shed 19.79 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 3,238.87 to join the Japanese and South Korean bourses in the loss column.
Markets in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan seemed less fazed and notched up gains.
The Hong Kong benchmark saw a second straight session of gains despite protests showing no signs of letting up before district elections on Sunday. Traders attributed the performance to hopes of further stimulus in China to combat the effects of the economic slowdown.
"Asian stocks are mixed, unable to stay in lockstep with their US counterparts, which marched on to post fresh record highs," said FXTM market analyst Han Tan.
He added that sentiment remains weighed down by concerns over the prospects of a trade deal, with patience "wearing thin over the fate of the 'phase one' agreement".
There were 1.49 billion shares traded here worth $1.09 billion, with losers beating gainers 217 to 183.
Golden Agri-Resources recorded trade of 52.4 million shares - the STI's most active - as it fell 5.9 per cent to 24 cents.
Institutional investors have been net buyers of the agribusiness over the past week, while retail investors were net sellers, most likely as they were keen to book profits. The stock had run up 29 per cent from the start of the month to before results were posted last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding continued to see heavy trade yesterday. China's largest non-state-owned shipbuilder followed Monday's 8 per cent jump with a 1.9 per cent dip to $1.06.
The banks ended lower: OCBC fell 0.6 per cent to $11.12; DBS eased 0.6 per cent to $26.44; and United Overseas Bank shed 1 per cent to $26.67.
STI gainers included ComfortDelGro, up 1.3 per cent to $2.36.
Last week, the transport firm reported a 10.8 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit, citing its taxi business and forex exposure to the Australian dollar and British pound.
That said, KGI Securities upgraded its call to "outperform" but lowered the price target to $2.61 yesterday, with risks from a falling Aussie dollar and uncertainty over Britain's election already priced in.
"We now believe it's time to grab a piece of this steady cash-flow business," said Mr Joel Ng, its head of Singapore research.
