Singapore shares rose on Wednesday, but Wilmar International (WLIL.SI), the world’s largest listed palm oil firm, underperformed the broader market due to its property ventures in China that traders said deviate from its main business.

By the midday break, the Straits Times Index (STI) <.FTSTI> was up 0.34%, or 10.72 points, at 3,150.57. Total value of shares traded in the morning session was $605.4 million, up from $461.5 million on Tuesday.

“The local market is tracking the overnight advance from Wall Street. Oil prices continued to stay firm and that has resulted in better performance from our rig players,” said Ng Kian Teck, an analyst at SIAS Research.

He added that he sees the STI trading in a range of between 3,144 and 3,158 points after the midday break.

Wilmar shares fell as much as 5.1% after it said it will invest 889.2 million yuan ($175 million) in joint ventures with Kerry Properties and Shangri-La China to develop three sites in Yingkou City, China, for residential, commercial and hotel use.

At midday, Wilmar shares were down 4.2% at $5.67 on a volume of 24.2 million shares.