Friday, February 1, 2013

Market Summary -- 1st Feb 13

FTSE STI closed 3,291.14, up 8.48 points or +0.26% with a total volume of 3.2b and a total value of S$1.54b.  Total number of advance vs decline was 237 vs 183.  Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 5 unchanged and 8 closed negative.  The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-

1. DBS  +0.190
2. Jardine C&C  +0.190
3. SIA  +0.110
4. CapMallsAsia  +0.080
5. KepCorp  +0.080
5. ST Engg  +0.080

The top 5 loser component stocks were :-

1. JMH 400US$  -0.400
2. JSH 500US$  -0.280
3. F&N  -0.120
4. SPH  -0.030
5. Genting SP  -0.025

US markets closed negative again yesterday after economic data with jobless claims rose.  Asian bourses swinging between positive and negative closed mix for the day.  Nikkei +0.47% with Yen continued to weaken, SSE +1.41% reversing earlier loss after PMI announcement and HSI -0.03%.  STI managed to close positive with a 0.26% gain in thin volume and value day.  17 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.

China released its official PMI for January this morning coming in at +50.4 lower than expected of +51 and previous reading of +50.6.  The surprise decline in data caused an initial sell down in regional bourses but most managed to recover.  Though the reading came in lower than expectation but it continued to show China manufacturing continuation in expansion mode.  Investors will also be watching tonight US non-farm payroll data after a disappointing surprise contraction in its 4Q GDP a night ago. 

For STI, there was a shift of buying in defensive and high-yield stocks today as probably investors taking some risk off from higher beta stocks and move to defensive mode.