FTSE STI closed 3,184.23, down 7.85 points or -0.25% with a total volume of 1.34b and a total value of S$821M. Total number of advance vs decline was 168 vs 253. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 14 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +0.140
2. Kep Corp +0.080
3. UOB +0.060
4. DBS +0.040
5. Semb Corp +0.030
5. SIA Engg +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.380
2. Jardine C&C -0.320
3. SIA -0.130
4. CityDev -0.130
5. Wilmar -0.100
US markets gave up gain and closed in the red yesterday as investors await for US Fed minutes. Asian bourses were mixed for the day. Nikkei gave up gain and closed -0.33%, SSE +0.62% and HSI +0.18%. STI struggled to maintain positive and closed -0.xx% in thin volume and value day. xx of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
The nervous to the prelude of the releasing of US Fed minutes for last month FOMC meeting on top of US markets stretching well above valuation caused the sell down. Asian bourses were mixed given mixture of news and events. Japan released its October export data coming in at +18.6% on-year beating expectation plus Bernanke's remark that US Central Bank would maintain its easy monetary policy for as long as needed was overshadowed by the nervous of the outcome of the US Fed minutes causing Nikkei to reverse gain. China and Hong Kong however continued to move up playing on the theme of the latest China reform policies.
STI failed to stay positive as investors in general felt that Singapore does not benefit much from latest China reform policies (as much as Hong Kong does) and cautious on the as usual Fed tapering talk (even though it should not affect Singapore economy much). The weakness in high-yield stocks like S-Reits totally reflects the negative sentiment by investors on US Fed tapering. Sentiment is noise, fundamental should be the one to be focused on.
