THE Straits Times Index (STI) barely made it to the rally party that the Asian markets were in, as the Singapore 30-constituent index was only marginally up 0.01 per cent or 0.28 points at 2,591.88 points.

But the index ended the shorter trading week 1.23 per cent lower over the four-day sessions.

The best non-STI performer on Friday was AEM, which was trading cum dividend and added 50 Singapore cents or 19.38 per cent to S$3.08. This came as at least two research houses, Maybank Kim Eng and CGS-CIMB, recommended a "buy" or "add" call on the company that provides advanced chip-testing solutions. AEM issued a higher sales guidance on May 4.

Telco StarHub was one of the non-STI worst performers, shedding six Singapore cents or 4.03 per cent to close at S$1.43. The stars were not aligning for StarHub, wrote OCBC Investment Research in a report published on Friday. While it noted that 5G is likely to be net positive for telco, investors would likely be more concerned with more near-term guidance on 5G capital expenditure.

OCBC wrote: "All considered, we believe that StarHub's share price could be under pressure in the near term, given the market's relatively sanguine expectations going into the results. This is further compounded by the removal of earlier guidance, resulting in concern over dividends."

The most heavily traded STI stock was Singapore's only other listed telco, Singtel, which declined three Singapore cents to S$2.72.

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Advancers outnumbered decliners 234 to 178 for the day, with 1.59 billion shares worth S$1.54 billion traded.

Most Asian markets were in a rally, as the tensions between the United States and China have eased somewhat. Their top trade negotiators have had a phone call and agreed to strengthen economic and public-health cooperation. 

The Nikkei 225 led its regional peers with a 2.56 per cent gain to close at 20,179.09. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.04 per cent to 24,230.17, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.83 per cent to 2,895.34.

South Korea's KOSPI ended 0.89 per cent higher at 1,945.82. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index settled 0.5 per cent higher at 5,391.1. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was also up 0.39 per cent to 1,382.31.

No such luck for the Jakarta Composite Index, which was 0.25 per down at 4,597.43.