Traders punt penny stocks on quiet day

THE closure of Hong Kong and most Western markets on Monday meant activity here ground to a virtual standstill, resulting in traders punting the second line to pass time and avoid falling asleep at their terminals. In some cases they succeeded - there were decent percentage gains in several penny stocks; as for blue chips though, the absence of any real interest meant that the Straits Times Index (STI) barely budged throughout the day and ended a net 0.84 point weaker at 3,452.91.

Turnover at two billion units worth S$704.3 million was one of the weakest full-day totals for the year and excluding warrants, there were 284 rises versus 161 falls.

In such a desperately boring environment, brokers' comments were understandably negative; one dealer said he should have known better than to come in to work.