TRADING in the local market on Thursday was much more subdued than in previous sessions, with volume amounting to just 2.4 billion units worth S$988 million, compared with the average of S$1.37 billion done between Monday and Wednesday and the S$1.75 billion traded on Friday last week.

This was evident as the Straits Times Index (STI) struggled throughout the day to stay in positive territory before finishing a net 1.31 points down at 2,809.12. It was also the first day since Feb 19 that turnover was less than S$1 billion.

Overseas markets provided little direction - the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite fell slightly, as did the Dow futures, which at 5pm had dropped about 20 points.