STI weakens for fourth straight day

THE Straits Times Index's (STI) losing streak extended into a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, this time with a 4.99-point loss at 3,373.60. Since closing at 3,417 last Friday, the STI has now lost a total of 44 points or 1.3 per cent over the four days, briefly entering negative territory for the year on Thursday when it touched a low of 3,357.

For 2015 it is now up just eight points; however, given that it bounced 16 points of its intraday low, there were hopes that it would close Friday in the black, most probably on the back of an anticipated Thursday rebound on Wall Street.

Turnover was 1.3 billion units worth S$1 billion which was below the S$1.2 billion average for the week so far, and excluding warrants there were 188 rises versus 228 falls. Of the top 20 actives, 13 were priced below S$0.50, with the list headed by Armarda at S$0.005 and SIIC Environment at S$0.145.