The STI is up 0.3% at 3188.55 midday in very low volume of 473 million shares worth $632 million as the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays deter players from making fresh bets, especially with the potential for further spikes in risk aversion from geopolitical events in the Middle East. 

The local market will be closed from midday Wednesday and reopens Monday. After yesterday’s sharp 1.5% fall, Kim Eng says “as long as the key support at 3155 (100‐day Exponential Moving Average) holds steady, the index still has a chance to continue its bullish trend,” noting the 14-day RSI is below the neutral level.

Golden Agri (E5H.SG) rises 2.1% to $0.720, Genting Singapore (G13.SG) climbs 1.0% to $2.04; splitting those two in the top three of the most actives list is JES International (EG0.SG) rising 5.8% to $0.365, extending its 1.5% gain yesterday which came after the China-based shipbuilder announced a slew of orders secured in 4Q10.