FTSE STI closed 3,186.62, up 12.59 points or +0.40% with a total volume of 2.48b and a total value of S$1.02b. Total number of advance vs decline was 278 vs 168. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 5 unchanged and 9 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.850
2. JSH 500US$ +0.350
3. Jardine C&C +0.240
4. OCBC +0.080
5. SGX +0.070
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. DBS -0.060
2. CityDev -0.030
3. StarHub -0.020
4. SIA -0.020
5. Semb Corp -0.020
US markets rose at least 1% yesterday night due to optimism that a deal will eventually strike among the US lawmakers to avert the default. Asian bourses rose in the earlier session after US lawmakers finally agreed on the deal which President Obama signed and the default was avoided but closed mixed due to profit taking and ease of optimism. Nikkei +0.83%, SSE -0.21% and HSI -0.57%. STI was among those maintained positive till close with a +0.40% in thin volume and value day. 16 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The deal was a short-term solution as it simply extended the debt ceiling till February 2014, funding the US Government (which will reopen today) till January 2014. 4 months later, the same old issue will resurface and another deja vu. As such, there is nothing to be overly optimistic about.
Apart from the US news, Singapore also released its September non-oil export data coming in -1.2% yoy but beating market expectation of -2.8%, better than -6.8% in August. Not a set of wonderful data but pretty much in line with all the existing uncertainties at the moment. STI rose for the day due to the blue chips but broader market still flat as any rebound was seen as taking profit for most of the investors especially those penny stocks. Investors mostly ignored the earning season at the moment due to US issue and perhaps it is time to refocus back to the earning of Singapore companies as so far companies that have released their earning were showing resilient set of result.
