FTSE STI closed 3,123.82, down 7.65 points or -0.24% with a total
volume of 3.51b and a total value of S$798M. Total number of advance vs
decline was 183 vs 235. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed
positive, 2 unchanged and 11 in the red. The top 5 gainer component
stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.110
2. Kep Corp +0.080
3. SGX +0.080
4. SIA +0.060
5. Semb Corp +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.790
2. JSH 500US$ -0.210
3. OCBC -0.150
4. SingTel -0.060
5. UOB -0.050
US
markets were mixed last Friday but Asia markets were on the selling
side for the day. Nikkei reopened for the first time in 2014 ended
-2.35%, SSE -1.80% and HSI -0.58%. STI opened in the positive looking
to recover some of the loss last Friday but with regional markets all in
the red, profit taking kicked in causing it to close -0.24%. Volume
was moderate but value was thin with 17 of the 30 index stocks managed
to register positive closing.
It was just a week or
more ago that everyone were so positive about the markets with US
hitting all the new record high and with just a snap of figure,
everything suddenly appeared to be bearish now. Nothing much has
changed with some pointing out maybe due to the weakness in the China
economic data released past days. Both its PMI and Service PMI all came
in below expectation. However, the underlying has not changed. This
could only confirm that for those past weeks when markets were rallying,
investors were just plain overly optimistic. This is another economic
data filled week before earning season starts. China CPI, GDP (14th Jan
2014) and US non-farm payroll are just some of the more watchful data
coming out.
STI after last Friday of more than 1% sold
down looked set to recover some of those losses but soon gave way
tracking the weakness in regional bourses. Volume was moderate due to
the punting of the penny stocks while the blue chips still lack of
activity as a whole. With fund managers coming back full force from
holiday, they will have lot to do, juggling between economic data,
earning season and of course re-balancing their portfolio for 2014. Whatever the case, remember look at the bigger picture and focus solely on the fundamental.
Inflation is the one to watch this year (refer annual analysis)
