Regional investors yesterday had to process mixed news from the weekend, including last Friday's unexpectedly strong US job report and Sunday's poor Chinese export data.
Most seemed to focus on the positive, and sent Asian benchmarks higher in Australia, China, Japan and Taiwan, although gains were capped on worries over the effects of the US-China trade scuffle on the Chinese economy.
However, the gainers failed to include Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI), which struggled for direction and spent most of the session hovering around last Friday's close before slipping late in the day to end at 3,179.82, down 14.89 points or 0.5 per cent.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong was little moved and Malaysia was lower.
Trading volumes came in at 965.37 million shares worth $906.24 million, with losers trumping gainers 239 to 126. The slide left 23 of the STI's 30 stocks in the red.
Golden Agri-Resources continued to see heavy trading, with 103.4 million shares changing hands. The plantation owner ended 2.3 per cent higher at 22.5 cents.
Even though Golden Agri has been dropped from the MSCI Singapore index, traders said its volumes are likely to remain elevated on the back of rising palm oil prices, which have lifted other agribusiness players in recent weeks.
Other plantation owners were mostly lower yesterday, including Bumitama Agri, down 0.7 per cent to 72.5 cents, and Wilmar International, 1 per cent under at $4.10.
Citi Research believes investor interest in Wilmar will "pick up further as news flows on its Chinese IPO progresses".
Among property counters, Europe-focused real estate investment trust (Reit) IReit Global was unchanged at 79.5 cents after striking a deal with Tikehau Capital and City Developments (CDL) to acquire four freehold office buildings in Spain for €133.8 million (S$201 million).
"We see IReit as an alternative avenue for CDL to divest some of its UK offices, in addition to CDL Hospitality Trusts for non-core hotels in Europe, Asia and the US," Citi Research said.
CDL, which fell 0.7 per cent to $10.55, is Citi's top pick among Singapore developers for "its redevelopment potential and undemanding valuations".
Meanwhile, dormitory developer Centurion Corp dropped 2.3 per cent to 43 cents after revealing that it will acquire a student accommodation property in Nottingham for £15.1 million (S$27 million).
