Push on DBS, UOB helps STI avert a bigger loss

OVER the course of the week, the Straits Times Index fell 12 points to 3,513, a loss which would have been greater if not for a Friday push on the banks DBS and UOB that enabled the index to gain 10.25 points that day. The banks are due to report their first-quarter results next week.

A reasonably firm Wall Street, an all-time high for Nasdaq on Thursday and continued support for Hong Kong stocks via its link with Shanghai all failed to stir much interest here.

The more interesting feature, however, was that volume in penny stocks declined throughout the week, with Friday's market turnover coming in at 1.9 billion units worth S$1.3 billion for a unit average of about S$0.68.