THE fact that volume can more than double from a year-low S$664 million last Tuesday to S$1.4 billion just 24 hours later, and then drop back to a below-par S$840 million on Thursday suggests that: (a) there are plenty of short-term traders waiting to pounce at the first opportunity; (b) short-selling activity is still alive and well; and (c) the smart money buys the dips and sells into strength.

As for which stocks offer the best trading opportunities, with 65-70 per cent of daily volume for the whole market coming from trading of the 30 STI components, it's a no-brainer: stick to the banks, Singtel, and conglomerates like Keppel Corp and SembCorp, and you won't go too far wrong.

All of the above would probably be blindingly obvious to those who have been following the local market's fortunes since the start of the year, from when the STI plunged 11 per cent in January and February in the wake of collapsing oil and a feared hard landing in China, to the bounce last month that has extended into April and taken the index into positive territory for the year.