Shares of ASTI Holdings Limited (SGX: 575) surged 16.4% for the week to close at S$0.085 on Friday. In comparison, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) inched up by a mere 0.4% during the same time frame. This makes ASTI a massive gainer in the Singapore stock market this week. As a quick background, ASTI is involved in the research, design, development and manufacturing of semiconductor equipment. It has four research and development centres, 14 factories and 29 sales offices globally. ASTI also has controlling equity stakes in Advanced Systems Automation Limited (SGX: 5TY) and Dragon Group International Limited (SGX: MT1). Earlier in the week, ASTI made public that it has agreed to sell five of its wholly-owned subsidiaries to Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co Ltd (PDST

Editor’s note: Earlier versions of this article were first published on 22 January 2018 in The Motley Fool Singapore’s premium stock recommendation newsletters, and in the 22 January 2018 edition of Take Stock Singapore. As of 15 January 2018, Singapore’s stock market benchmark, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), closed at 3,536 points. For those with a good memory, our market benchmark was also above 3,500 points back in April 2015. But, stocks fell sharply afterwards, with the index falling by 28% from a high of 3,540 points (reached on 15 April 2015) to a low of 2,533 points (reached on 21 January 2016). With this as a backdrop, what can investors expect next? I’d like to address this today. And I intend to discuss this not by talking about arbitrary price levels, but by lo