As in the previous session, there were a handful of star stocks that were not strong enough to ignite an across-the-board advance.

The market did not go very far in either direction due to continuing uncertainty over Chen's final decision on the unification guidelines.

The market extended yesterday's decline as it took its lead from the overnight losses on Wall Street, especially technology shares on the Nasdaq.

Simply put, there is no reason to buy shares aggressively at this point.

For those who monitor market charts, a pull-back to around 6,400-6,500 points, or the 72-day moving average for the benchmark index, seems increasingly possible.

There was not enough enthusiasm about pushing the upside as too many investors were ready to pocket their gains.