FTSE STI closed 3,222.43, down 29.70 points or -0.91% with a total volume of 1.80b and a total value of S$1.16b. Total number of advance vs decline was 187 vs 243. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 20 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.450
2. HongkongLand USD +0.160
3. ComfortDelGro +0.080
4. SIA Engg +0.020
5. SPH +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -1.300
2. JSH 500USD -0.990
3. UOB -0.450
4. DBS -0.430
5. CityDev -0.130
US markets closed positive last Friday with DJ closed in record high. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei -0.35%, SSE +2.08% and HSI +1.82%. STI fell 0.91% in thin volume and value with 9 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The positive closing from US markets last Friday merely technical rebound due to past days of selling. Asian markets were mixed as divided by global events. China and HongKong markets were higher rising average 2% due to last Friday State Council unveiled blueprint of capital reforms. Rest of Asia markets were weighed down by political uncertainty in Ukraine and Thailand.
STI faced selling pressure the moment market started trading. Some of the drop were due to the banking stocks with DBS going XD fell more than 2%. Broader markets lacked buying activity with mid, small and micro-penny stocks were used by day traders to punt some profit. The swinging range of these prices might be attractive to do short trading but you never know when the music will stop and once stop, will get caught. The swinging or maybe false signal to move up could also be due to distribution in progress. Be cautious of those punter stocks.
