SGX glitch, oil and gas volatility take centre stage

GIVEN that there were events of note this week such as swings in the offshore oil sector, the still-strong support for the banks and weakness again in Genting Singapore, it might be a tad simplistic to say that the defining event was Wednesday's half-day closure of the stock market because of a software glitch in Singapore Exchange's computer system.

Then again, considering that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has come down hard on SGX for a second system breakdown in less than a month, it probably deserves its place at the top of the list of main market developments for the five days just past.

Not a particularly distinguished development, it has to be said, and one that has provided SGX's critics with plenty of ammunition to attack the exchange with fresh vigour, but in the grand scheme of things, certainly a very significant occurrence which takes precedence over all else.