FTSE STI closed 1,878.51 down 72.69 points or 3.73% with a total volume of 1.26b and a total value of S$1.22b. Total number of advance vs decline was 178 vs 338. Of the 30 component stocks, only 3 closed positive, 1 remained unchanged and the rest closed in the negative. The 3 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Capitaland +0.050
2. ST Engg +0.020
3. StarHub +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -2.000
2. JSH 500US$ -0.860
3. DBS -0.840
4. Jardine C&C -0.820
5. KepCorp -0.370
Though US markets recovered early loss and rally on close, asian bourses performed in mixed today. Nikkei and Shanghai both closed in the green but HSI, Taiwan, South Korea and STI all closed down. Banking, commodity and offshore/marine stocks were under heavy selling today. As crude oil price fell below US$70/barrel, both offshore/marine and commodity stocks were dragged down. As for banking stocks, in the morning still able to rally up upon the news that MAS guarantee deposits for all the 3 local banks. Sentiment turned bearish in the afternoon when apparently funds were selling for redemption. In HK, all the banks are to buy back the affected Lehman Brothers mini-bond and this could cause the funds selling. Furthermore, investors also cautious of what's going to happen over the weekend hence taking profit and stay sideline waiting for clearer direction.
