Pennies remain main play in lacklustre week for blue chips

THERE were no surprises this week as the Straits Times Index displayed a widely anticipated lack of verve and direction, forcing punters to churn the penny segment to make money. One dealer summed up the situation as "you either play with Keppel Corp, DBS or the pennies since there's nothing else really worth playing", an observation that paints a fairly accurate picture.

Among the corporate developments of note was OCBC's bid for Hong Kong's Wing Hang bank while property stocks remained weak because the latest housing statistics show prices in most segments are correcting after the slew of curbs over the past few years. Elsewhere, the offshore marine segment came under some pressure because of concerns over rising risks this year though Keppel emerged as the favoured play.

Overseas developments included the release of the minutes of the December Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at which the US central bank announced that it was starting to taper its monetary stimulus; the minutes were greeted with dismay by Wall Street because almost all the governors voted for tapering, suggesting that tapering is likely to accelerate rather than progress slowly.