SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Local stocks started the week on a bearish note, tracking weak sentiment across global markets, amid continued fears over the impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 1.2 per cent or 38.66 points to end at 3,072.97 on Monday.

Elsewhere in the region, most markets also ended the day lower, with key indexes in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong falling between 1.8 and 2.1 per cent.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that a combination of increasing Omicron nerves - particularly in Britain and Europe - and US Democrat Senator Joe Manchin rejecting President Joe Biden's spending plan, throwing it into doubt, "has seen Asian equities head directly south in sympathy with Wall Street's Friday finish".

On the local bourse, all but one of the STI counters ended the day lower, with Dairy Farm International being the top decliner. The shares fell 4 per cent or US$0.11 to close at US$2.63.

Finishing at the top of the STI performance table was Thai Beverage, which ended unchanged at $0.66.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 369 to 147 after 1.1 billion securities worth $1.03 billion changed hands.

Shares of locally listed glove and medical equipment makers were among the more actively traded counters by volume on Monday, and these counters were also some of the bright spots in the market.

Shares of Top Glove rose 1.4 per cent to close at $0.71, Medtecs International climbed 5.8 per cent to close at $0.365, while UG Healthcare gained 6.3 per cent to close at $0.34.

"Markets are very cautious ahead of the Christmas break, with concerns about the impact of the Omicron strain," analysts at National Australia Bank said in a note.

"More discontinuity in supply chains from Omicron could add to inflation concerns."