STI enjoys fifth consecutive rise

THE Straits Times Index advanced for the fifth consecutive trading session on Monday, gaining 18.91 points at 2,981.54, most likely in response to Friday's US jobs report that raised the likelihood that Wall Street would enjoy a decent Monday itself, with hopes that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might close above 20,000 for the first time ever.

That this might be the case was the signal from the futures market where the Dow futures traded in positive territory throughout local trading hours. At 5pm, however, it had dipped marginally into the red.

The STI's rise takes its five-day total to just over 100 points or 3.3 per cent. Apart from a push on blue chips, the other notable feature was rotational punting of low-priced issues - a hallmark of trading at the start of a new year. In Monday's session, new names such as Accrelist and Equation occupied the top spots in the actives list, the latter displacing Noble Group which for most of last year headed the list.