Singapore shares finish mixed; volume improves and STI still +5.5% for 2017

A 60 points rise in the Dow futures on Wednesday that suggested a firm session ahead for Wall Street failed to inspire the Straits Times Index (STI) to push on to a fresh 15-month high, though the index's eventual 2.01 points loss at 3,039.94 was considered mild by any standard, given that it is still up by 159 points or 5.5 per cent for 2017.

Volume in recent days has improved and on Wednesday amounted to 1.9 billion units worth S$1.33 billion, better than last week's S$1.1 billion daily average.

The advance-decline score excluding warrants was a close 226-220.