STI up 0.3% in week of quiet trading

IN FIVE trading days, the Straits Times Index (STI) managed an 11-point or 0.3 per cent rise to 3,463.10. Optimists might be thankful for the gain and be grateful that even with liquidity dipping to daily averages of below S$1 billion, the index held up pretty well. Pessimists, on the other hand, would bemoan the loss of volume, volatility and verve over the past fortnight.

On Friday, for example, the STI barely budged throughout the day before ending a net 7.32 points higher, most probably in anticipation of a rise on Wall Street. Turnover amounted to 1.2 billion units worth S$1.02 billion, not anything to shout about.

Penny stocks have retained their popularity in a market often described as being bereft of ideas, though even here volume has been hit.