Singapore share prices closed flat on Thursday after profit-taking emerged in blue chips during afternoon trade in response to recent gains, dealers said. They said buyers were scarce in the absence of new leads following Wednesday's closure of US markets for the Independence Day holiday.
The Straits Times Index fell 3.17 points or 0.09 percent to 3,551.68. There were 4.47 billion shares traded with a value of 2.52 billion Singapore dollars (1.66 billion US). Gainers edged decliners 433 to 401, with 671 stocks unchanged. "There is no selling pressure but there is profit-taking on stocks that have been up recently," Fraser Securities research head Najeeb Jarhom said.
The market is holding up well despite the lack of strong domestic buying leads, he said, adding the index will likely trade between 3,530 and 3,590 points ahead of the approaching earnings season.
Blue-chip decliners that succumbed to profit-taking included Neptune Orient Lines, which fell 0.25 to 5.75 and Singapore Exchange which dropped 0.30 at 10.00. Singapore Airlines was down 0.10 to 19.30, while shipyard operator COSCO Singapore declined 0.04 cents to 3.88.
Property heavyweights were also weaker. CapitaLand fell 0.10 to 7.90, Keppel Land declined 0.10 to 8.45 and City Developments dropped 0.40 to 16.90. Banking stocks helped support the index, with United Overseas Bank gaining 0.20 to 22.20 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp advancing 0.05 to 9.20. DBS Group lost 0.10 to 22.60.
Industrial conglomerates Keppel Corp and SembCorp Industries also trended higher, benefiting from a booming demand for oil drilling rigs and production platforms. Keppel Corp added 0.10 to 12.20, while SembCorp Industries rose 0.05 to 5.55.
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