FTSE STI closed 1,715.35, up 10.75 points or 0.6% with a total volume of 1.05b and a total value of S$941M. Total number of advance vs decline was 198 vs 161. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive and 8 closed negative. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.460
2. Wilmar +0.160
3. KepCorp +0.150
4. NobleGrp +0.090
5. OCBC +0.070
5. Olam +0.070
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. SIA -0.320
2. DBS -0.150
3. JMH 400US$ -0.080
4. CapitaMall -0.050
5. SIA Engg -0.040
US markets rose yesterday night from gain of banking and technology stocks despite poor economic data of Jobless Claims. Asia bourses reacted with a positive opened and closed firm up for the week. Nikkei closed +1.60%, HSI +3.61% and SSE +3.99%. STI also closed in positive region but was relatively flat as compared with other Asia bourses. Bank stocks and property stocks were mixed. Offshore/Marine and commodity counters were up. In the afternoon, Temasek Holdings announced Ms Ho Ching stepping down as CEO with effect from Oct 2009. Replacing her will be Charles Goodyear, ex-CEO of BHP Billton. The news has created some nervious sentiment from the market as it negated the effect of other Asia bourses strong closing. Tonight US will be relasing its employment situation data to determine how bad will be the unemployment rate.
