Explanation needed when no trading query made

ON WEDNESDAY last week, the shares of Hongkong Land jumped US$0.33 or almost 5 per cent to a 52-week high of US$7.19 after 4.1 million shares - four times the six-day daily average of one million shares - changed hands.

All of the gain came in the morning session and because of the company's large market capitalisation, the price surge pushed the Straits Times Index up six points. However, despite the impact this had on the index and, by extension, on sentiment, the company was not queried by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for possible reasons for the sudden rise in price and the relatively heavy trading volume.

On the same day, JES International's shares were also in play. The company, which was first queried in the late morning, replied just after lunch time that it did not know of any reason for the activity in its shares. Because of this, the SGX issued a "Trade with Caution" notice on the stock before the end of the day.