FTSE STI closed 1,795.47, down 3.48 points or 0.19% with a total volume of 984M and a total value of S$847M. Total number of advance vs decline was 231 vs 158. Of the 30 component stocks, 10 closed positive, 16 closed negative and 4 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.560
2. CityDev +0.410
3. Capitaland +0.240
4. Jardine C&C +0.200
5. Kepland +0.170
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.460
2. JSH 500US$ -0.410
3. Wilmar -0.230
4. SingTel -0.110
5. SembCorp -0.100
Crude oil price slided below US$40/barrel after OPEC decision to cut output by 2.2 million, as such Wall Streets were under selling pressure from the oil related companies that ended US markets closing lower. Asia bourses opened mainly in the negative following US markets slide and despite BOJ announcement cutting interest rate from 0.3% to 0.1%, there was nothing to cheers about in the market. Market sentiment was weak and also being a Friday, investors chose to take some profit and unwilling to take fresh positions over the weekend. The US automakers bailout deal is still unresolved. Nikkei close -0.91%, HSI -2.39% and SSE +0.14%. STI remained flattish with property stocks still holding up well while SingTel dropped 0.11 due to XD dragged the index to close in the negative.
