TUESDAY'S short-covering bounce proved short-lived as the downtrend resumed on Wednesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) dropping four points to 2,777.11.

Penny stocks, which exploded into life last week and on Monday, continued to flounder, led by recent outperformer ISR Capital, which plunged S$0.018 or 20.7 per cent to S$0.069 on volume of 22.6 million.

Turnover amounted to 1.9 billion units worth S$1.06, of which S$787 million or 74 per cent was generated by trading in the 30 index members. Excluding warrants, the market recorded 176 rises versus 192 falls.