Singapore's main share index ended up for the 10th straight day on Thursday, lifted by gains in some blue chips such as DBS Group and techs, but new worries about Sars triggered profit-taking in the broader market.
A waitress in southern China was declared a suspected Sars case on Thursday, and in Hong Kong three members of a television crew were being tested for the deadly virus, raising fears of a new outbreak days ahead of Asia's biggest holiday.
"There's perhaps a little bit more concern about Sars and whether it will gather any momentum. It's something that people are keeping in the back of their minds," said John Yap, director at UOB Kay Hian Private Ltd.
The key Straits Times index rose 0.31 percent, or 5.72 points, to 1,841.68, dipping below an early high of 1,853.80. Despite the drop, this was its best close since March 12, 2001.
Losers edged out gainers 177 to 168 overall as volume shrank to 1.5 billion shares from 1.9 billion on Wednesday.
The STI index has risen seven percent in the past 10 trading days on optimism that the economy and corporate earnings will improve in 2004. It had gained 32 percent in 2003 after losses in the previous three years.
"What we have is a situation whereby there are a lot of holders of stock who are just wondering what to do at the moment. They aren't selling," said Christopher Gee, Singapore strategist at J.P. Morgan Chase.
"They are pretty much more inclined to put more money into equities than take money out."
Among blue chips, banking firm DBS rose 1.3 percent to S$15.70. Singapore Airlines climbed 1.8 percent to S$11.40, seemingly shrugging off any Sars worries.
But OCBC Bank dropped 1.6 percent to S$12.30.
Technology shares were largely firm. Computer data network builder Datacraft Asia soared 9.5 percent to US $1.50 in heavy volume of 69 million shares.
"The sector itself is in favour now. People are talking about the tech sector outperforming the market on the back of favourable US economic data," said Yap of UOB.
Contract electronics maker Venture Corp moved up 1.4 percent to S$21.80, after its nearly four percent rise the previous day.
Singapore Telecommunications rose 1.0 percent to S$1.97 after slumping 4.9 percent on Wednesday following the government's move to cut its stake in the firm through a share placement at a discount to the market price.
Some investors said the move will help boost SingTel's public float and to raise its weighting on Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) indices.