Singapore shares closed 0.15 percent lower on Monday, as political uncertainty in the U.S. weighed on investors' sentiment.

U.S. stocks ended lower after a short-lived boost last Friday following U.S. President Donald Trump's removal of chief strategist Steve Bannon from White House. Sentiment remains wary of the latest White House fallout, which cast doubts on Trump's economic plans. Investors now wait for key speeches from the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve at the annual Jackson Hole symposium this week.

Maybank Kim Eng Research said "technically, next support for Straits Times Index is at 3,190 points, with former support-turned-resistance at 3,275 points."

Singapore benchmark fell 5 points to 3,246.99 points. Trading volume was 1.23 billion shares worth 962 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 257 to 179.

Among top actives, Best World International rose 2.1 percent to 1.22 Singapore dollars. Its controlling shareholders Dora Tan and Doreen Tan each acquired 50,000 shares at average price of 1.10 Singapore dollars on August 18. This raised their combined interest from 40.725 percent to 40.734 percent.

OEL rose 11.1 percent to 1 Singapore cent. It announced it is acquiring Maxz Universal Development Group for 41.5 million Singapore dollars in a reverse takeover (RTO) transaction. Consideration will be satisfied via an issue of 92.8 million new shares at 35 Singapore cents apiece and 9 million Singapore dollars in cash, following a 20-to-1 share consolidation. Maxz Universal Development owns 93.9 percent of the lessee for Le Meridien hotel on Sentosa in Singapore. Following the RTO, the major shareholders of Maxz Universal Development will own 73.5 percent of the enlarged share base of OEL.

Among top gainers, Jardine Strategic rose 1.8 percent to 43.30 U.S. dollars, while UOB became one of the top losers by falling 0.2 percent to 23.45 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars)