FTSE STI closed 3,202.15, down 21.72 points or -0.67% with a total volume of 1.28b and a total value of S$948M. Total number of advance vs decline was 84 vs 396. Of the 30 component index stocks, 4 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 25 in the red. The 4 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500USD +0.100
2. SIA +0.050
3. StarHub +0.020
4. Noble +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.700
2. DBS -0.240
3. CityDev -0.130
4. ComfortDelGro -0.080
5. UOB -0.070
5. HongkongLand USD -0.070
US markets closed in the red last Friday and Asian bourses were in the red for the day. Nikkei closed for holiday, SSE -0.36% and HSI +0.24%. STI fell 0.67% in thin volume and value with only 4 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The concern of global slowdown continued to worry US markets with S&P500 dropping at least 1% and Nasdaq at least 2%. The global selling continued for Asian markets despite upbeat China import and export data. For September, export rose 15.3% vs expectation of 11.8% and import rose 7% vs expectation of a drop of 2.7%. The only bourses that managed to do an intra-day rebound was HSI, edging out a gain. Eyes will be on Wall Streets whether it can stage a rebound tonight. So far US markets have dropped at least 5% from recent peak and with most expecting a 10% correction, there could be further downside before bargain hunting starts to come in.
STI gap down below the 3,220 support with no surprise given the bearish sentiment globally. Investors will be looking at the next support level 3,180. A rebound should be on the way but will be resistive.
