Singapore stocks close 0.21 pct lower

Singapore, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Singapore stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) going down 0.21 percent, or 6.64 points, to close at 3,229.48.

A total of 896.85 million shares changed hands with a turnover of 948.95 million Singapore dollars (about 699.45 million U.S. dollars). Losers outnumbered gainers by 219 to 181.

The STI index went up 0.35 percent, or 11.23 points, to close at 3,222.84 Wednesday.