Singapore shares closed flat Friday as the market consolidated multi-year highs this week, with investors taking profits in Creative Technology after the under-pressure MP3 maker rebounded, dealers said. The Straits Times Index rose 0.13 points to 2,250.29 on volume of 979 million shares worth 887 million Singapore dollars (528 million US), down from 1.04 billion shares valued at 993 million dollars on Thursday.
A dealer from a foreign brokerage house said the market would continue to drift sideways in the coming sessions, focused on small stocks with interesting leads. Biosensors closed eight cents higher at 94.5 cents after its Netherlands-based subsidiary, Occam International BV, received regulatory approval to sell its first drug-extracting stent, Axxion, in Europe.
Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines rose 20 cents to 11.80 on expectations of an improved first quarter earnings report after Changi Airport reported that June saw its highest passenger traffic so far this year, with monthly passenger arrivals up 7.8 percent.
Singapore Airlines will release its results on July 29.
Other blue chips were mixed, with Singapore Telecommunications falling three cents to 2.69, ST Engineering slipping a cent to 2.49, and Singapore Press Holdings losing 10 cents to 4.50. Creative Technology dropped 60 cents to 13.10 on profit-taking after posting gains for the past four sessions, with most analysts pessimistic on the company's fortunes amid a possible inventory write-off and MP3 player margin pressures.