No joy as Q4 starts on weak note

TRADING for the fourth quarter kicked off on a sour note on Wednesday, with the Straits Times Index sinking to a 12.65-point loss at 3,264.09 and volume remaining as poor as it has been for several months.

Overnight softness on Wall Street, worries over the political impasse in Hong Kong and geopolitical risks were cited as reasons for yet another forgettable session in which the whole market recorded 196 rises versus 211 falls.

Turnover amounted to 1.04 billion units worth S$726.5 million and of the total dollar volume, S$412…