Market ends mixed despite French polls relief

MARKETS may have been relieved with the result of the first round of France's presidential election but this was hardly apparent from the way trading in this part of the world went on Monday - the Straits Times Index spent most of the day in the red as it tracked falls in Hong Kong and China while mostly ignoring a triple-digit rise in the Dow futures, eventually closing with a net gain of just 4.2 points at 3,144.03.

Turnover amounted to 3.3 billion units worth S$1.1 billion; excluding warrants there were 220 rises versus 247 falls.

The session opened on the front foot after news from France that the polls had yielded no shocks - the two candidates who advanced and will face off in the next round on May 7 were the two that markets had anticipated would do so.