FTSE STI closed 3,084.41, down 4.44 points or -0.14% with a total volume of 3.97b and a total value of S$1.47b. Total number of advance vs decline was 199 vs 248. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 16 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +0.350
2. Kep Corp +0.170
3. Wilmar +0.110
4. DBS +0.070
5. SGX +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.550
2. JMH 400US$ -0.530
3. UOB -0.280
4. HKLand US$ -0.160
5. CityDev -0.100
US markets closed positive last Friday with at least +0.3% closing. Asian bourses were mixed but mostly positive for the day with Nikkei -0.18% failing to hold gain, SSE +1.90% and HSI +0.65%. STI was another bourse that failed to hold gain and closed -0.xx% in a higher volume but thin value with xx of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Over the weekend it was the Jackson Hole meeting for Central Bankers that took center stage as investors looking for cue for US Fed tapering and how it will affect rest of the world. Though no clear sign of when it will happen but the consensus among the Central Bankers were should a tapering occur it must be a measurable and controllable one such that it will not suddenly have the impact of liquidity crunch, this was also stressed by IMF chief. China market was the most bullish for the day due to optimism as recent economic data giving some positive sentiment to the beaten down regional bourses.
STI opened higher but failed to hold on to the gain despite upbeat July PMI data coming in at 51.8, higher than 51.7 from June and manufacturing sector expanded 2.7%. The issue with STI was investors knew the bargain after past days of selling down but maintained cautious to buy while day traders and punters were seen taking profit on the rise and focus mainly on penny stocks. Funds selling should be over, any funds trying to sell will provide opportunity to other funds who still believe in the fundamental of Singapore and waiting for buy cheap. One's loss is another gain. The range bound mode shall continue till next month.
