STI falls 0.6% to close at 3,048.28

Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.6% to 3,048.28 at the close. Six stocks fell for each that rose in the benchmark index of 30 companies.

Shares on the measure trade at an average 14 times estimated earnings, compared with about 15.6 times at the end of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The following shares were among the most active in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company name.

Commodity suppliers: The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, which tracks prices of 19 commodities from copper to corn, lost 0.1% in New York on June 24, extending its decline for a third day. Noble Group (NOBL SP), a Hong Kong-based supplier of energy, food and mining commodities, dropped 0.5% to $1.94. Olam International (OLAM SP), a Singapore-based supplier of agricultural commodities, slid 0.4% to $2.72.

Palm-oil producers: Crude palm-oil futures for September delivery dropped as much as 1.5% in Kuala Lumpur today, heading for its fourth straight day of decline. First Resources (FR SP), an Indonesian palm-oil supplier, lost 0.7% to $1.40. Golden Agri-Resources (GGR SP), the world’s second-biggest palm-oil producer by sales, slipped 0.7% to 67.5 cents. Kencana Agri (KAGR SP), the owner of plantations in Indonesia, decreased 2.5% to 39 cents.

Real Estate Companies: Property developers are unlikely to “outperform” because of the risk the government will introduce additional measures to curb housing prices, according to a note sent by Citigroup Inc. to clients. City Developments (CIT SP), Singapore’s second-biggest developer by market value, declined 1.3% to $10.46 after its rating was cut to “hold” from “buy” at Citigroup. Keppel Land (KPLD SP), the real estate unit of Keppel Corp. (KEP SP), dropped 1.1% to $3.61 after its rating was lowered to “sell” from “hold.”

Venture Corp. (VMS SP), Singapore’s biggest publicly traded electronics manufacturing services provider, fell 0.7% to $8.49. OCBC Investment Research cut its share-price forecast to $10.59 from $12.10, saying orders are picking up more slowly than anticipated.