SINGAPORE, May 7, 2008 (AFP) - Singapore share prices closed down 0.61 percent on Wednesday as investors locked in recent gains in cautious trading as rising oil prices weighed on sentiment, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 19.80 points to 3,228.95 on volume of 2.04 billion shares worth 2.35 billion Singapore dollars (1.74 billion US).

Decliners led rising issues 375 to 319 with 838 stocks unchanged.

Oil prices rose to a new high above 122 dollars on Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, adding pressure to inflation worries, dealers said.

"The market has advanced since last Wednesday and I would expect the market to have one or two days of pullback," said Gabriel Yap, dealing director at DMG and Partners Securities.

"The market is waiting for more (corporate earnings) results for a clearer direction."

Banking shares were mixed, with United Overseas Bank rising two cents to 21.42 dollars and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp down two cents at 9.00 dollars after it reported a four percent fall in net profit to 622 million dollars for the first quarter.

DBS Group slumped 22 cents to 20.28 after it reported that its net profit in the first quarter ending March 31 dipped 2.0 percent to 603 million dollars compared with the previous year.

Property heavyweights ended lower, with CapitaLand slipping 27 cents to 6.70 dollars, City Developments down 16 cents at 11.96 dollars and Keppel Land falling two cents to 6.00 dollars.

Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines dropped 20 cents to 15.78 dollars and Singapore Telecommunications ended four cents lower at 3.82 dollars.