FTSE STI closed 3,226.11, up 3.56 points or +0.11% with a total volume of 1.13b and a total value of S$999M. Total number of advance vs decline was 194 vs 222. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 13 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500USD +0.490
2. JMH 400 USD +0.220
3. SIA +0.210
4. CityDev +0.170
5. Capitaland +0.090
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.260
2. Kep Corp -0.230
3. Jardine C&C -0.070
4. StarHub -0.040
5. SembMar -0.040
US markets closed with a gain of average 0.70% last Friday. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei +0.63%, SSE -0.52% and HSI -0.68%. STI was flat with a +0.11% closing with thin volume and value, 16 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Positive corporate earning offset the fear of Ebola (first detected case in NYC) continued to drive US markets on a rebound. Asian bourses however were mixed for the day. Both SSE and HSI suffered drop of at least 0.5% as investors were disappointed that the SSE-HKEx link yet to commence which initially was targeted to start functioning this month. There were some positive news from Europe as latest ECB stress test on banks revealed only 25 of the 130 banks failed the test and those big names were not in it. That news were offset by profit taking and cautious ahead of the US Fed FOMC meeting this Tuesday and Wednesday. Expectation was US Fed should officially end its QE this month but investors are again looking for cue of when interest rate will hike.
STI was flat swing between gain and loss as short-term traders/investors were seen profit taking while mid to long term investors were waiting for bargain hunt opportunity. The 3 local banks will be releasing their earning this week and the cautiousness in the 3 stock prices more or less caused STI to be flat. STI should have some volatile swing movement in the middle of the week in reaction to the outcome of the US Fed FOMC meeting but that should not be used as a signal to either buy or sell. What STI needs now is to consolidate and create a support.
