Banks keep ST Index on firm footing

LIFTED by another all-time high on Wall Street on Friday, the Straits Times Index (STI) on Monday kicked the week off on a firm footing, gaining 15.32 points at 2,874.65, thanks entirely to the banks.

However, an 80-point drop in the Dow futures and a weak opening Europe-wide, which suggested an unsteady opening for the US market this week, meant the STI closed 15 points off its intraday high of 2,889.

Turnover was a moderate 1.4 billion units worth S$1.1 billion; excluding warrants, there were 174 rises versus 278 falls, so the market was weaker than the index's reading might suggest.