FTSE STI closed 3,274.44, down 15.82 points or -0.48% with a total volume of 1.48b and a total value of S$900M. Total number of advance vs decline was 152 vs 258. Of the 30 component index stocks, 3 closed positive, 9 unchanged and 18 in the red. The 3 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Capitaland +0.020
2. SembCorp +0.010
3. SGX +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.770
2. JSH 500USD -0.600
3. JMH 400USD -0.440
4. CityDev -0.120
5. OCBC -0.090
5. KepCorp -0.090
US markets closed slightly higher yesterday after swinging between gain and loss. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei +0.29%, SSE -0.92% and HSI -0.43%. STI fell 0.48% in light volume and value and only 3 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The Iraq violence has caused some nervous in the global markets given the lack of positive news. US is even considering air strike on Iraq to resolve the violence. Of course any military action will lead to jump in crude oil price in the short-term. Another event is the coming US Fed FOMC meeting in which investors will be focus on what signal US Fed will give regarding hiking interest rate. IMF yesterday also cut US growth forecast and that might cause some jittering. For Asia, selling pressure kicked in as investors prefer to stay sideline among those uncertain events.
STI fell 0.48% in a rather broad market fashion as short-term investors probably realized correction has begun and started to sell before it get too late. Bargain hunting was rather muted as most adopt as wait and see situation. Singapore also reported its May non-oil export this morning falling 6.6% while most expected a rise of 0.9%. That negative news did not help STI at all. Bad news is STI correction just about to get into the half-way mark but the good news is short-term rebound is on the card. Buy but not sell when market is right to buy, sell but not buy when market is right to sell.
