FTSE STI closed 3,290.98, down 2.75 points or -0.08% with a total volume of 1.16b and a total value of S$778M. Total number of advance vs decline was 207 vs 208. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 12 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.180
2. OCBC +0.080
3. KepCorp +0.040
4. ComfortDelGro +0.030
5. SIA +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.640
2. JSH 500USD -0.260
3. UOB -0.090
4. SPH -0.030
5. Wilmar -0.020
5. SGX -0.020
5. HongkongLand USD -0.020
5. Ascendas Reit -0.020
US markets closed positive last Friday and Asian bourses were mostly positive for the day. Nikkei +0.88%, SSE +0.96% and HSI +0.49%. STI after last Friday positive closing was subjected to profit taking closing -0.08% in thin volume and value day. 12 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
The fear of Portugal's debt receded while US corporate earning so far has been on the positive side. This gave the cue for Asian markets to move up for the day while waiting for their respective corporate earning. Investors will also be focusing on China 2Q GDP this Wednesday and couple of US banks will be releasing their earning this week.
Singapore started its earning season last Friday when SPH REIT delivered a set of better than forecast result and now earning will be released this week. This morning, Singapore reported a missed 2Q GDP coming in at +2.1% vs expectation of +3.1% mainly due to the weakness in manufacturing activities. That perhaps gave some negative sentiment to STI as it dropped 0.08% becoming one of the worst performer as compared with regional bourses. On a broader market, stocks that are awaiting for their earning to be announced this week or next have been observed to have a short-term positive bias in their price.
