STI powers to 17-month high, pennies in play

EVEN though the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 59 points or 1.9 per cent over the course of this week to a 17-month high of 3,100.39, the real story has been the resurgence of penny punting and the stunning rise of Catalist whose index gained 4.5 per cent this week and has risen 16 per cent for the year so far.

Unit volume has stayed above three billion every day this week - on Friday when the STI rose 20.43 points, turnover amounted to 3.3 billion worth S$1.75 billion. It was the highest dollar value done since Nov 30, 2016.

The average value per unit traded on Friday was S$0.53, versus around S$0.35-0.45 from Monday to Thursday. Interior design and furniture maker Serrano was by far the week's best performer when it rocketed up from S$0.002 to S$0.07 in just two days after announcing the entry of a group of new investors. Also leaping into the picture was International Healthway Corp which in recent weeks has experienced boardroom upheaval and the entry of new shareholders which are providing the company with fresh credit lines.