Singapore shares dropped 1.24 per cent by midday on Wednesday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) sinking 37.54 points to 2,996.48 around noon.

The STI tanked below the key 3,000 mark in morning trading to hit a fresh nine-month low.

A total of 1.6 billion shares valued at $704 million were done by midday.

Losers led gainers 309 to 70, with 420 counters unchanged.

All 30 STI component stocks were in negative territory. Thai Beverage dropped 2.5 cents to 43 cents and Golden Agri-Resources dipped two cents to 54 cents.