FTSE STI closed 3,091.78, up 30.29 points or +0.99% with a total volume of 1.44b and a total value of S$1.39b. Total number of advance vs decline was 256 vs 190. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 12 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. DBS +0.380
2. UOB +0.370
3. CityDev +0.280
4. OCBC +0.180
5. SGX +0.140
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD -0.100
2. SIA -0.020
3. Jardine C&C -0.020
4. Genting SP -0.020
5. ThaiBev -0.010
5. SIA Engg -0.010
5. SembMar -0.010
5. GLP -0.010
5. CapitaMall -0.010
5. Ascendas Reit -0.010
US markets closed mostly positive yesterday and Asian bourses rebounded for the day with Nikkei +0.99%, SSE +1.76% and HSI +0.43%. STI up 0.99% in moderate volume and value with 17 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US markets started the day in the red falling at one point more than 1% before an intra-day reversal to close mostly positive. Asian markets rebounded after past 2 days of selling down after the PBoC assured the markets of not further devaluation of yuan. That should calm and stabilize the markets while investors accessing the damage done with the latest devaluation of the yuan. There are 2 side of views regarding the yuan devaluation. One of the view was the yuan devaluation will affect the economy of rest of the world in particular those export-orientated nations. The other view was that with the yuan devaluation, China export should recover and the picking up of China economy will have a domino effect to the rest of the world. It is still too early to decide which view is correct so just have to keep monitoring along the way.
STI after the biggest one-day drop yesterday managed to recover some ground as the rebound of the banking stocks coupling with SingTel after a firm earning this morning was enough to send STI up almost 1%. The worst might be over but still too early to turn to bullish sentiment given the various uncertainties still persist. Cautious approach biased towards positive should be a better choice.
