Director buying falls again, selling stays low

THE buying fell for the fourth straight week while the selling among directors remained low based on filings on the Singapore Exchange in the third week of October. Buyers outweighed sellers with eight companies that recorded 14 purchases worth S$3.1 million versus three firms with four disposals worth S$0.55 million. The buy figures were down from the previous week's 10 firms, 17 purchases and S$3.3 million. On the selling side, the number of companies and trades were down from the previous week's four firms and six disposals while the sell value was up from the previous week's sales worth S$0.48 million.

Meanwhile, the buyback activity rose for the second straight week with 13 companies that posted 42 repurchases worth S$7.14 million. The number of trades was sharply down from the previous week's 54 transactions but the number of firms and value were up from the previous week's 11 companies and S$6.73 million.

There were several significant buyback and director trades last week with buybacks in Star Pharmaceutical, GSH Corporation, GKE Corporation and Global Palm Resources. On the directors' side, there were insider buys in Ascendas Hospitality Trust and Centurion Corporation and a rare insider sale in Declout Limited. Lastly, multiple buyers in New Silkroutes Group has pushed the share price up to a four-year high.