Banks help STI rebound from five-month low

THE Straits Times Index slumped to a five-month low this week, closing at 3,295 on Tuesday before a three-day rebound that included a 6.18-point rise on Friday that took it to 3,353.85. The initial impetus for that bounce came from news that MSCI had postponed including China "A" shares in its emerging markets index, news which meant Singapore's weighting will not be cut - yet.

Additional momentum was generated by a mid-week rally on Wall Street,…