FTSE STI closed 3,301.00, up 14.61 points or +0.44% with a total volume of 1.39b and a total value of S$1.03b. Total number of advance vs decline was 214 vs 214. Of the 30 component index stocks, 20 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 7 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. DBS +0.310
2. UOB +0.150
3. SIA +0.130
4. SembCorp +0.110
5. SGX +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.150
2. ComfortDelGro -0.090
3. ST Engg -0.080
4. SembMar -0.020
5. ThaiBev -0.010
US markets closed mixed and flat last Friday. Asian bourses were however positive for the day with Nikkei -0.59%, SSE +2.27% and HSI +0.83%. STI rose 0.44% just above the 3,300 level in thin volume and value with 20 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US last month unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% but the number of jobs created came in lower than expected and wage growth also flat. The mixed bag of news would consider by most as US Fed will not hike interest rate sooner than expected. Over the weekend, China released its trade data with export increased more than expected but not for import. Today, China's inflation for last month came in at 1.6%, within expectation. However, the news of the day was China will announce a date for the HK-SSE stock market link. That piece of news caused both SSE and HSI to outperform regional bourses.
STI in line with regional bourses rose 0.44% closing just above the 3,300 level as investors snapping up the blue chips. However, the smaller cap stocks were pretty much muted and flat. STI will enter the last week of corporate earning and there after fund managers should be busy adjusting their portfolio and even positioning themselves for year end window dressing.
