Singapore shares finish weaker; pennies in play as STI falls below 3,050

PENNY stocks took centrestage on Thursday as a 60-point slide in the Dow futures on Thursday took the wind out of the sails of the local stock market, knocking back the Straits Times Index by 23.41 points at 3,044.08.

Traders said it looked like the Trump reflation play may have run its course, and could be replaced by worries over the impact a protectionist America would have on global trade and global growth.

"With blue chips under pressure, punters are looking to play the pennies," said a dealer.

Turnover amounted to 2.5 billion units worth S$1.1billion, about in line with recent elevated averages. Excluding warrants there were 198 rises versus 220 falls. The average value per unit traded was S$0.44 and 16 of the 20 top actives ended firmer. The actives list was led by Equation Corp, Healthway Medical and Charisma Energy.