Singapore shares closed 0.34% down, as most investors were sidelined ahead of the April non-farm payrolls labor market report due later on Friday.

Market players were also disappointed by news that European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi gave a more upbeat assessment of the region's battered economy, reducing hopes of further monetary stimulus measures in the pipeline.

NRA Capital said "markets tend to be soft on low volume. The tendency is for markets to go down." But the research house also added "there will be specific interests depending on first-quarter results and forward guidance."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 10.35 points to 2,990.59 points. Trading volume was 2.47 billion shares worth 865. 6 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 238 to 132, while 408 stocks did not move.

Singapore Exchange ended flat at 6.71 Singapore dollars. It said its April securities turnover was down 27% to 23.5 billion Singapore dollars from a year earlier. Securities daily average value also fell 27% from a year ago to 1.2 billion Singapore dollars.

Ascendas REIT retreated 3.8% to 2.01 Singapore dollars. The Trust said it had priced its private placement of 150 million new units at 1.99 Singapore dollars each, at the bottom of the indicative range of 1.99 Singapore dollars and 2.04 Singapore dollars.

CapitaMall Trust lost 0.6% to 1.805 Singapore dollars. The Singapore's biggest real estate investment trust said it will make a one-time gain of 83.8 million Singapore dollars from the sale of one of its properties in the city-state.

Great Eastern Holdings rose 0.3% to 13.35 Singapore dollars. It said its first-quarter net profit rose 65% to 262.5 million Singapore dollars from a year earlier, helped by growth in underwriting profit, higher investment income and mark- to-market gains from the recovery of financial markets.

OCBC dropped 0.2% to 8.96 Singapore dollars. The Singapore's second largest banking group said it has updated its US dollar commercial paper program to allow it to issue up to 10 billion US dollars worth of unsecured notes.

UPP Holdings halted trading for second consecutive day. It said on Friday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Myan Shwe Pyi Limited to set up a joint venture company to be incorporated in Myanmar. The joint venture firm will buy assets in quarry operations and engineering services for around 18.9 million US dollars from Myan Shwe Pyi Limited. It closed at 41 Singapore cents on Wednesday.

Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 0.5% to 49.75 US dollars, while APB became one of the top losers by falling 1.2% to 33.10 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.24 Singapore dollars)