FTSE STI closed 1,616.79, up 2.35 points or 0.15% with a total volume of 1.03b and a total value of S$737M. Total number of advance vs decline was 181 vs 215. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 13 closed negative and 5 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.500
2. Jardine C&C +0.340
3. JSH 500US$ +0.130
4. SembCorp +0.090
5. SembMar +0.080
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. CityDev -0.140
2. OCBC -0.110
3. Wilmar -0.100
4. F&N -0.040
4. UOB -0.040
US markets rallied up yesterday night after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke outline the government's plan to help the US financial sector. He also knocked down the idea of nationalization and that lifted investors' fear to bargin hunt. Asia bourses welcome the rallied with mostly opened higher. Nikkei closed +2.65%, HSI +1.61% and SSE +0.27%. STI was up initially but soon parsed down the gain in the afternoon sessions when Dow future reflected a possible weak opening for US markets tonight and investors chose to profit taking.
