SINGAPORE (Jan 28): Singapore shares pared gains as investors booked profits while waiting for fresh leads, including a statement from the Federal Reserve early tomorrow morning after the end of its two-day policy meeting.

At 12:22pm (0422 GMT), the Straits Times Index was flat at 3,413.18, off a high of 3,427 set in the morning. Market breadth turned neutral from positive.

Shares rose earlier after the Monetary Authority of Singapore sprang a surprise by saying it will slow down the appreciation of the local currency.

The Singapore dollar sank to a low of 1.3570 against the greenback shortly after the central bank's announcement.

"This is a massive boost for the export-oriented economy of Singapore," Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures, wrote in a note. "With a softer Singapore dollar, Singapore can now push its goods and services out more easily."

Trading centred mostly on penny stocks.

Tritech Group put on 8.1% to 17.3 cents, with more than 29 million shares changing hands, after the company said an international financial institution had expressed interest in investing up to US$3 billion ($3.9 billion) in some of its water-treatment projects.

Armarda Group was also actively traded, with more than 25 million shares changing hands, after the mobile satellite services provider said it will place out new shares to raise funds for acquisitions. The stock was little changed at 0.3 cent.