STATS ChipPAC takeover talks in focus

THE possible takeover of STATS ChipPAC, the continued reliance of the Straits Times Index on the three banks and Jardine group for support, and rotational playing of penny stocks were

the main features of interest in an otherwise unremarkeable week for the local stock market.

Turnover remained low at around the $1 billion mark for most days and the focus remained narrow - in Friday's session for example, there were 195 rises versus 211 falls - which meant that in a market with some 800 counters, about 400 were either not traded or finished unchanged.