Singapore stocks slipped by midday, bucking the trend in other Asian bourses as losses in blue chip Sembcorp Industries Ltd weighed on the broader index.

Utilities and marine conglomerate Sembcorp Industries fell 2.6 percent to S$5.17 after trading ex-dividend, while container shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines Ltd also lost 1.6 percent to S$1.21.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.11 percent or 3.23 points to 2,976.55.

"We haven't seen a lot of genuine buying in the market lately. Trading has been dominated by ultra penny stocks. We have to wait for shares to pull back further before having more opportunities to buy into quality stocks," said a local dealer.

Shares of Global Premium Hotels Ltd jumped 9.6 percent above its initial public offering price on its market debut.

Its shares were traded at S$0.285 versus the offer price of S$0.26, on a volume of 138 million shares, making it the most actively traded stock on the exchange.

Asian shares rose on Thursday, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edging up 0.4 percent after the Federal Reserve reassured markets that it would keep its very accommodative stance to support growth.

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1241 (0441 GMT)

(Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com)