STI, Catalist index rise to 52-week highs

NOBLE Group reclaimed top spot in the actives list on Thursday with 250 million shares traded as rotational playing of penny stocks that started a week ago continued in full force, the FTSE ST Catalist Index jumping 0.6 per cent to a new 52-week high. This index has now risen 16.2 per cent in 2017, making it one of the world's best performing indices this year.

As for the Straits Times Index, it rose 13.43 points to 3,079.96, also a 52-week high, thanks to gains in the banks - mainly DBS - Singtel and Keppel Corp.

Turnover amounted to 3.1 billion units worth S$1.4 billion for an average of S$0.45 per unit, and excluding warrants there were 313 rises versus 192 falls. The Dow futures traded marginally in the black for most of the session, though the move was too small to draw any meaningful conclusions about how Wall Street might perform on Thursday.