STI unmoved by new benchmark entrants

THE usual suspects were strikingly missing from the line-up of local index movers after a significant change to the Straits Times Index (STI) basket took effect on Monday, but the market's attention was already elsewhere.

Although the three new entrants to the STI generally did well on their debut as part of the 30 blue-chip benchmark, traders seemed to be paying more attention to the small-cap space after mid-afternoon trading resumptions in a couple of interesting counters.

Possibly related, the local benchmark index struggled to make much headway after a wobbly start to the day. The Singapore market opened 0.8 per cent lower after traders spent a weekend worrying about the US Federal Reserve's inaction, and managed to claw its way back up to finish a marginal 0.1 per cent higher with the STI advancing 2.6…