Singapore shares ended higher on Friday, lifted by DBS and Neptune Orient Lines, but secondary stocks attracted most of the volume in cautious trade ahead of weekend polls in Taiwan and Malaysia.
The key Straits Times index finished up 0.21 percent, or 3.94 points, at 1,839.12. It is up 4.2 percent from the start of the year and 2.6 percent from the start of March.
"The threat of terrorism and the political news in the region are not really stimulants to buy into the market. We are not seeing big volumes," said Samuel Wong, assistant dealing manager of institutional sales at OCBC Securities.
News that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian had been shot on the stomach in the middle of a campaign appeared to have little impact on local trade. Chen was not in critical condition.
Earlier in the day, news that Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama Bin Laden's second-in-command, may have been cornered by Pakistani troops also failed to excite the market. But some dealers said that investors would rather play it safe amid the elections in the region, hence, the interest on second- and third-liner stocks.
The most actively traded stock was investment firm Rowsley Ltd with nearly 77 million shares trading hands, ending up 35 percent at 13.5 Singapore cents.
In the broader market, gainers edged out losers 159 to 155 as volume eased to 739 million shares from 843 million shares on Thursday.
DBS ended up 1.45 percent at S$14 on follow-through buying after two straight sessions of gains.
Shares of the world's sixth-largest container shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines rose 3.92 percent to S$2.12. The firm's shares have risen more than 8.0 percent in the past week due to firmer freight rates on the back of an improving global economy.
Hong Kong-based Noble Group, Asia's largest diversified commodities trading company, jumped 4.95 percent to S$4.66.
Singapore Telecommunications rose 0.4 percent to S$2.30, ahead of the March 22 listing of Belgacom, Belgium's top telecoms operator. SingTel owns a 11.7 percent stake in the firm.