I REFER to the recent article, "Share traders calling it a day as market volumes dries up" (BT, Oct 23), in which our stock market was described by some as a "quality market". Unfortunately, retail investors would beg to differ. There are various reasons behind the current malaise.

One common grouse centres around the dominance of algo traders who employ sophisticated computer programs to trade the markets, making it difficult for retail investors to buy and sell. There is also some talk that the lunch break, which the local market used to enjoy for decades, was unilaterally removed (despite vehement opposition from other stakeholders) to reduce the daily programming required by these traders. Bid sizes were slashed to razor-thin levels to suit their trading style. This has affected retail traders tremendously as they now find it difficult to profit from minor fluctuations and they have voted to stay away.

We have misfocused marketing. Every now and then, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) comes out with sophisticated products, like the American Depository Receipts (ADR) and Extended Settlement (ES) contracts, to lure retail investors as if the poor participation was due to inadequate product offerings. In fact, all that the Exchange needs to do now is to revive the basic "plain vanilla" market. The solution does not lie with promoting or introducing sophisticated products.