Small-caps propel STI to 2-year high but mood cautious

SHOPPERS may have swarmed Orchard Road, but Black Friday was another quiet day on the local market, even as the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed at a fresh two-year high.

The index was up 18.98 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 3,442.15, with gainers outnumbering losers 243 to 172.

But the movement was largely on the back of penny stock activity, with the nearly 2.57 billion shares that changed hands worth just S$911.9 million.

One reason for caution across Asian bourses could be the recent plunge in Chinese markets, which was sparked by fears of regula…