SINGAPORE, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapore shares closed 0.84 percent lower on Monday, as a lack of positive catalysts kept many investors on the sideline.
The hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rate hikes last week weighed on market sentiment across Asia. Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker said on Dec. 16 that the U.S. central bank will likely need to raise interest rates more than three times next year.
Meanwhile, oil prices remained steady after Goldman Sachs boosted its price forecast for 2017 and producers showed signs of adhering to a global deal to reduce output. Brent crude futures hovered around 55 U.S. dollars a barrel.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 24.78 points to 2,913.08 points. Trading volume was 1.86 billion shares worth 897 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 263 to 167, while 656 stocks did not move.
Creative Technology ended flat at 96.5 Singapore cents. The audio product company is seeking total damages of nearly 57.7 million U.S. dollars. Its subsidiary ZiiLabs, which holds more than 80 patents in graphics and processor technology, has filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission and is seeking injunctions on Qualcomm, Sony, Motorola, MediaTek, LG, Lenovo and AMD.
QT Vascular jumped 3.8 percent to 8.3 Singapore cents. The medical devices maker said it has got an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin enrolling patients for a trial of a new product. The full investigational device exemption for its novel "Chocolate Touch" drug-coated balloon allows the company to enroll up to 585 patients and 50 centers in the U.S. for clinical trials.
Among top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 2.1 percent to 40.70 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 1.9 percent to 54 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.45 Singapore dollars)
