FTSE STI closed 3,158.57, up 1.78 points or +0.06% with a total volume of 3.27b and a total value of S$1.37b. Total number of advance vs decline was 180 vs 214. Of the 30 component index stocks, 10 closed negative, 3 unchanged and 17 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SembCorp +0.090
2. GLP +0.080
3. Olam +0.065
4. OCBC +0.060
5. SembMar +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -1.190
2. CityDev -0.200
3. JSH 500US$ -0.100
4. UOB -0.090
5. Jardine C&C -0.080
US market closed up again for average 1% due to optimism in the fiscal cliff. Asian bourses were mostly positive for the day with Nikkei +2.39% crossing the 10,000 level, SSE -0.01% and HSI +0.57%. STI though positive but failed to maintain earlier gain and closed only +0.06% with heavy volume of more than 3 billion but total value for the day still thin at S$1.37b only. 17 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
After Obama came out with a counter offer against Republican's offer, Republican came out with a plan B strategy (actual detail might be complicated) which investors seeing a possible deal could be make by end of this week. That the reason for US markets rose for second day. Need to stress need to see the detail of the deal as whether it is just a short-term fix or a long-term solution. Markets should react different on the deal done with different details.
Nikkei hit above the 10,000 level as hopes for the new PM Shinzo Abe to roll out aggressive stimulus to boost Japan economy saving her from recession.
STI heavy volume was part contributed by Olam in which Temasek Holdings raised its stake to 17% and coupling with short-covering ahead of the XR on 28th Dec 2012 led Olam to up 4.41%. STI was positive, volume was heavy but number of decline led number of advance. That is definitely some divergence there.
