FTSE STI closed 3,187.67, down 1.09 points or -0.03% with a total volume of 1.39b and a total value of S$852M. Total number of advance vs decline was 166 vs 237. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +2.250
2. JSH 500US$ +1.050
3. Jardine C&C +0.090
4. SIA +0.050
5. UOB +0.040
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. OCBC -0.120
2. HKLand US$ -0.100
3. SIA Engg -0.060
4. GLP -0.040
5. Wilmar -0.030
5. StarHub -0.030
5. SingTel -0.030
5. Semb Corp -0.030
5. Kep Corp -0.030
US markets closed down average 0.3% after a weak Black Friday sales data. Asian bourses continued to perform mixed for the day with Nikkei +0.60%, SSE +0.69% and HSI -0.53%. STI was flat in thin volume and value day. Only 9 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Nothing wrong with US markets dropping as the past days of speculating up without solid fundamental is not sustainable. Asian bourses were mixed with Nikkei closing at 6-year high after BOJ's comment of possible expansion of its stimulus. Rest of the markets were in up for profit taking and down for bargain hunting type of scenario.
STI was trading at a very narrow range for the day as broader markets experienced some bargain hunting while the blue chips taking a break. As a whole, STI is biased towards moving higher but the lack of volume probably seeing STI for the rest of the year doing a "2 steps up and 1 step down" type of movement.
