FTSE STI closed 1,596.92, up 12.06 points or 0.76% with a total volume of 992M and a total value of S$811M. Total number of advance vs decline was 208 vs 161. Of the 30 component index stocks, 19 closed positive, 8 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +1.000
2. JMH 400US$ +0.400
3. Jardine C&C +0.390
4. SIA +0.220
5. Wilmar +0.140
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. SPH -0.070
2. Capitaland -0.050
3. HKLand US$ -0.020
4. SingTel -0.010
4. SIA Engg -0.010
4. StarHub -0.010
4. NOL -0.010
4. F&N -0.010
US markets retreated yesterday night due to profit taking. Nikkei was closed for holiday today and Asia bourses were mixed with most of them closed firm up. HSI -2.26% and SSE +0.67%. STI opened lower but managed to reverse the loss to close positive with bank, offshore/marine and commodity stocks leading the upside. Defensive stocks were mostly down. The 2 index component KepLand and Yanlord will be removed today and from Monday onwards replaces with SMRT and ComfortDelgro. Investors are awaiting for tonight Fed Chairman's speech on the US economy to give a clue of the overall situation of the economy.
