Subdued interest in Singapore blue chips belies activity in broader market, where investors actively mopping up lower liners after chasing up large caps in past weeks, says Dow Jones.

The STI is up 0.2% at 2,967.50, but still stuck in tight morning band of 2,961-2,974, suggesting another close below 3,000. Overall volume above recent average at just under 2 billion shares, with market breadth at three gainers for each decliner.

“There’s nothing to rock the market. The STI stocks are behaving quite well, although the real action is in the small caps, where there’s a fair bit more interest from retail investors,” says a dealer at foreign brokerage.

FTSE ST Catalist Index +3.8%, FTSE ST Small Cap Index +1.7%, FTSE ST Fledgling Index +1.4%.