STI's decline continues on China, US rate concerns

THERE were four trading days in this holiday-shortened week, three of which ended with the Straits Times Index in the red. The single rise was on Monday when the gain was a paltry two points, not enough to compensate for falls on the other days. On Friday, the STI dropped 13.1 points to 2,832.64, bringing its net loss for the week to 47 points or 1.6 per cent.

Daily turnover has picked up in recent sessions - on Friday, 1.4 billion units worth S$1.2 billion were done, above the uninspiring S$1 billion mark that has become the market's daily norm this year.

Friday's business was boosted by relatively heavy trading of blue chips - Singtel, which dropped S$0.06 to S$3.64 on volume of 45.3 million shares, and Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), which rose S$0.035 to S$1 with 24.3 million shares done.