FTSE STI closed 3,191.80, up 7.87 points or +0.25% with a total volume of 2.17b and a total value of S$883M. Total number of advance vs decline was 285 vs 127. Of the 30 component index stocks, 7 closed negative, 4 unchanged and 19 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.240
2. DBS +0.120
3. JMH 400US$ +0.050
4. KepCorp +0.040
5. Olam +0.035
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ -0.260
2. CityDev -0.070
3. UOB -0.060
4. StarHub -0.040
5. SGX -0.020
US markets closed negative again but managed to recover most of the loss in the early part of the trading. Mix economic data from jobless claims and consumer confidence got investors divided. Asian bourses were positive for the day with Nikkei +0.70%, SSE +1.24% and HSI +0.21%. STI rose 0.25% to another new 52-week high with heavy volume of more than 2 billion but total value came in less than S$1b. 19 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
US lawmakers resumed fiscal cliff talk and schedule to have a session on 30th December to try to come out a deal. That news partly helped to recover some of the losses from US markets and providing some positive sentiment in term of hope for Asian bourses. Nothing is absolute yet as even if there is a deal, what kind of deal will be, a last minute patch up to temporary avoid the cliff or a long-term fix deal ?
STI is just about 9 points away from 3200 and with 1 more trading session for 2012, if some positive news come out from US over the weekend, it is possible STI could end 2012 above 3200. Though index edged up but most of the activities were again at the penny stocks. STI has been resilient for past days and that could due to investors looking at so-called a better 2013 (in which majority of the analysts are possible on 2013), picking up bargain before market runs up further in 2013. However, that analysis is one thing, the underlying is another. Singapore economy still weak mainly due to the drag in export and 4Q2012 could result in contraction. While investors can be chasing up the market due to possible assessment for 2013 by analysts, do keep a lookout for Singapore economy. It cannot have a stock market run up so much that it overrun the fundamental of the economy.
