Singapore shares edge up on Friday, gain 0.4% on the week

IT REMAINED a sleepy period and understandably so, with the Christmas holiday taking place in the mid-week.

While many market participants were on a break, most of the region's markets were back up and running on Friday in what was largely a positive day after Wall Street's three main indices closed at record highs on Thursday.

That said, traders (those who were active, that is) noted that the strong finishes in New York did not translate to early jumps in the region's benchmarks on Friday.

Oanda Asia-Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley was of the view investors in the Asia-Pacific were waiting for China's industrial profits for November to be released, which turned out better than street est…