FTSE STI closed 1,594.94, down 34.41 points or 2.11% with a total volume of 692M and a total value of S$700M. Total number of advance vs decline was 130 vs 288. Of the 30 component index stocks, 3 closed positive, 26 closed negative and 1 remained unchanged. The 3 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Starhub +0.010
2. SIA Engg +0.010
3. Goldenargi +0.005
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.640
2. Jardine C&C -0.340
3. UOB -0.320
4. CityDev -0.220
5. DBS -0.190
US markets continued the slide yesterday with DJI ended at a 6-year low with investors having deep concern on how deep the recession will be and worried about the US banks being nationalised. Asia bourses were bearish in sentiment this morning with Nikkei closed -1.87%, HSI -2.49% but SSE managed to buck the trend closing +1.54%. STI did not spare the bearish sentiment with bank, property, offshore/marine and commodity stocks leading the drop. Today SGX launched the Extended Settlement (ES) contract but with a lacksure interest in it. Most investors are staying sideline and STI closed below 1,600, first time since Sept 2003.
