Banks, Jardine help drive STI up 2.2% for the week

THE banking sector was once again the focal point of the trading week, rising initially because of expectations of a December US rate hike, then falling sharply on Tuesday and Wednesday when traders switched to China bank trading in Hong Kong following a reserve requirement rate (RRR) cut by China's central bank.

In the final two days of the week, traders rediscovered their appetite for local banks, possibly aided by generous amounts of short-covering. Throughout the five days, the fate of the Straits Times Index was largely determined by the banks and Jardine stocks, and on Friday, the index owed about 15 points of its eventual 29.45-point rise to 3,291.29 to the banks and Jardine Matheson. For the week, the index gained 72 points or 2.2 per cent.

Turnover has constantly hovered near the S$1 billion mark, considered by many to be the unoffical breakeven level for the local broking industry. On Friday, however, business done was 2.2 billion units worth S$1.3 billion, the unit volume inflated by 285.8 million traded in Magnus Energy, the counter closing unchanged at S$0.001.