FTSE STI closed 1,682.34, down 33.01 points or 1.92% with a total volume of 886M and a total value of S$864M. Total number of advance vs decline was 131 vs 228. Of the 30 component index stocks, 5 closed positive, 21 closed negative and 4 remain unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HKLand US$ +0.080
2. SGX +0.060
3. SIA Engg +0.030
4. Goldenargi +0.010
5. Gen Int +0.005
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.540
2. SIA -0.340
3. Jardine C&C -0.300
4. DBS -0.290
5. CityDev -0.210
US markets rallied on Friday night despite a worse than expected unemployment rate. In reaction to that Asia bourses mostly opened positive this morning however as the day progress, profit taking kicked in, Asia bourses soon trimmed the gain. Nikkei closed -1.33%, HSI +0.84% and SSE +1.99%. STI also gave up morning gain and closed -1.92% with SingTel, banks, property and Offshore/Marine weighing down the index. Capitaland and CapitaMall Trust both halt for trading today as Capitaland brought forwards it result announcement from tomorrow and reported below expectation net profit. Furthermore, it also announced right issue of 1 for every 2 @ $1.30 to raise S$1.84b. CapitaMall trust announced a 9 for every 10 rights @ $0.82 to raise S$1.23b to tackle their S$800m+ debt due Aug 2009. The news weighed down market sentiment despite HSI ability to swing back to positive region.
