Singapore shares sank on Thursday, despite broader regional gains, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a reconciliatory tone towards the US-China trade war, in contrast to President Donald Trump's blunt commentary of trade relations with China.

The Straits Times Index (STI), a key benchmark for the Singapore Exchange, ranged between 4,341.97 and 4,369.73 throughout the day. It ended the session at 4,356.20, down 12.22 points or 0.28% compared to Wednesday's close.

In company news, shares of Advanced Systems Automation (SGX:WJ9) were down over 14% at the close as it was served with an originating claim by ASTI.

Nio's (SGX:NIO, HKG:9866) Singapore's were down over 9% as GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, sued the Chinese EV maker in the US for inflating revenue, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, shares of Singapore Exchange (SGX:S68) were down nearly 3% after it launched the Indonesia-Singapore Depository Receipt Linkage.