STI drifts lower, but still up 5.5% for 2017

A 60-POINT rise in the Dow futures on Wednesday that suggested a firm session ahead for Wall Street failed to inspire the Straits Times Index to push on to a fresh 15-month high, though the index's eventual 2.01-point loss at 3,039.94 was considered mild by any standard, given that it is still up by 159 points or 5.5 per cent for 2017.

Volume in recent days has improved and on Wednesday amounted to 1.9 billion units worth S$1.33 billion, better than last week's S$1.1 billion daily average. The advance-decline score excluding warrants was a close 226 to 220.

Brokers said the index's good run since the turn of the year meant that corrections of some form could be reasonably expected. "Markets are still focused on the Trump reflation play despite the threat of a trade war with China," said a broker.