FTSE STI closed 3,205.29, down 0.25 points or 0% with a total volume of 2.61b and a total value of S$1.21b. Total number of advance vs decline was 246 vs 177. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 10 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. UOB +0.160
2. Jardine C&C +0.090
3. Semb Corp +0.070
4. Kep Corp +0.050
5. SingTel +0.040
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.660
2. JSH 500US$ -0.300
3. SembMar -0.130
4. SGX -0.100
5. HKLand US$ -0.100
US markets were mostly down yesterday and Asian bourses were also mostly down for the day. Nikkei +0.79%, SSE -0.82% and HSI -0.01%. STI practically unchanged in a slightly higher volume and value than past days. 16 of the 30 index stocks register positive closing.
Investors were awaiting for US GDP and non-farm payroll data which coming out Thursday and Friday as that probably will give cue of when US Fed will finally start tapering. As such, the cautiousness ruled the markets with a bias towards the downside. That was short-term sentiment nevertheless.
STI though experienced slight higher volume and value than past days but majority of the stocks were trading in narrow range. With earning coming to an end in another 1 to 2 week times, investors will be finding themselves with lesser news and solely focus on global events. Fund managers will be busy adjusting their portfolio for the year end. Some will sell off to book a realized gain (loss) while others that are under-performing the benchmark will have to load up on their portfolio. Short-term wise, the direction of those fundamentally strong stocks will be determined by them.
