Singapore stocks: STI resumes Friday afternoon at 3,219.67, down 0.03% on day

SINGAPORE stocks edged down as trading resumed on Friday afternoon, with the Straits Times Index retreating 0.03 per cent or 0.99 point to 3,219.67 as at 1.01pm amid mixed trading in Asian markets.

Losers outnumbered gainers 164 to 130, or about five securities down for every four up, after 371.6 million securities worth S$372.8 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Netlink Nbn Trust moved up 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.85 with 10.1 million shares traded. Jasper Investments stayed unchanged at S$0.004 with 9.9 million shares traded. AEM Holdings gained 2.0 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.02 with 9.3 million shares traded.

Banking stocks continued to show a mixed performance, with DBS Group Holdings gaining 0.4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$24.77; and United Overseas Bank increasing 0.8 per cent or S$0.21 to S$24.96. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank lost 0.09 per cent or one Singapore cent to S$10.76.

Other active index stocks included Singtel, down 0.9 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.32; CapitaLand Commercial Trust, down 1.4 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.05, and ST Engineering, down 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$4.08.

Sino Grandness was down 2.13 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent as at 1.32pm. It had announced on Friday morning that it had completed half of its share placement to JW Capital Group as the investor needed more time to remit the remaining S$3.4 million, due to capital controls in China.

Meanwhile, mining company Rich Capital shares were down 33.33 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.002 as at 1.32pm. It said on Friday that it was in the process of getting from an associate, a S$2 million advance payment guarantee related to development project in Batam.