Monday, December 16, 2013

Market Summary -- 16th Dec 13

FTSE STI closed 3,053.77, down 12.25 points or -0.40% with a total volume of 1.82b and a total value of S$725M.  Total number of advance vs decline was 161 vs 248.  Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 22 in the red.  The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-

1. SIA  +0.090
2. StarHub  +0.060
3. CityDev  +0.040
4. DBS  +0.020
5. Genting SP  +0.005
5. HPHTrust US$  +0.005

The top 5 loser component stocks were :-

1. JMH 400US$  -0.290
2. UOB  -0.180
3. Kep Corp  -0.140
4. JSH 500US$  -0.090
5. SIA Engg  -0.060

US markets closed mixed last Friday and Asian bourses were all in the red for the day with Nikkei -1.62%, SSE -1.60% and HSI -0.56%.  STI like regional bourses fell into the red with a -0.40% closing in thin volume and value day.  Only 6 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.

The main event for the week or for the month will be 17th to 18th Dec, US Fed FOMC meeting, the swansong for Ben Bernanke before he stepping down as Chairman next month.  To taper or not will be in almost every investors focus at the moment.  That was the also the main reason for the negative performance in regional bourses for the day.  Couple of economic data surfaced today like Japan Tanka data on big manufacturers rose to its highest level, 16, in 6 years and HSBC flash PMI for China in December fell to 50.5 as compared with 50.8 in November.  However, those data were mostly overshadowed by the concern of US Fed tapering.

STI after managed to close positive last Friday surrendered those gain today as investors taking a cautious stance, taking profit and wait for outcome of the US Fed meeting.  For most it is the concern of US Fed taper or not but unfortunately the most common view is never correct.  US Fed taper is a must and should look at the post-stimulus stage rather.  Low for the week not lower than last week, bargain hunt or bottom fishing chances will slip slide away.