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THE Singapore market took a breather yesterday, in line with other regional markets, slipping into the red after four straight sessions in positive territory.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed 10.43 points lower at 2,650.48 points.
Tokyo, Hong Kong and South Korea were among other key Asian markets that finished in the red. Hong Kong moved in and out of positive territory, but closed lower.
The Singapore market hit an intra-day high of 2,659.46 points - lower than the previous day's close of 2,660.91 points. It then sank lower to 2,640.92 just before the end of the morning session. It revived briefly in the afternoon before falling back. Volume traded was 2.17 billion shares, a significant drop from the previous day's 2.66 billion shares.
One reason for the turnover slide may have been the halting of trading in Genting Singapore's shares as the company announced a massive $1.63 billion rights issue.
Genting Singapore has been among the most actively traded stocks on the local bourse over the past few weeks. Since the end of June, when it traded at about 68 cents, it has soared to $1.19 at Tuesday's close - a record high for the counter.
Some dealers attributed the recent keen interest in Genting to investors deciding to weigh into the counter ahead of the soft opening of the integrated resort later this year or early next year.
Among the blue chips, 14 lost ground, while only nine rose and seven were unchanged.
Remisier Desmond Leong said: 'There is still underlying momentum in the market, but some of the blue chips are starting to come off.' He reckoned that since the market has moved up, second liners and penny stocks are due to see some profit-taking.
The local banks were weaker. OCBC Bank fell nine cents to $7.85, while DBS Group Holdings sank six cents to $12.90. United Overseas Bank fell eight cents to $17.10.
OCBC has risen 16 per cent from $6.68 at the end of June, while DBS has gone up by about 10 per cent, and UOB has surged about 16 per cent in the same period.
The property sector was also slightly weaker, with Fraser and Neave losing six cents to close at $4.06, while City Developments came off 10 cents to end at $10.88.
City Developments has had a good run recently, rising from $8.58 at the end of June to its year's high of $10.98 on Tuesday.
CapitaLand bucked the weaker trend yesterday, rising two cents to $3.89.
Results of the half-yearly review of the STI component stocks will be released today. Some stocks may be dropped or others included in the widely watched index.
Penny stocks were among the top volume counters. The most actively traded stock was Golden Agri-Resources, which closed unchanged at 48 cents on a volume of 177.8 million shares. Abalone producer Oceanus also closed unchanged at 36 cents on a volume of 67 million shares.
Biosensors, which makes drug-coated stents that are inserted into blocked arteries, gained 2.5 cents to close at 62.5 cents on a volume of 46 million shares. OCBC Investment Research said the company could be a takeover target, and maintained its 'buy' rating.
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