FTSE STI closed 1,896.56, up 4.81 points or 0.25% with a total volume of 2b and a total value of S$1.12b. Total number of advance vs decline was 232 vs 262. Of the 30 component index stocks, 18 closed positive, 11 closed negative and 1 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. KepCorp +0.210
2. UOB +0.160
3. Jardine C&C +0.080
4. SembMar +0.080
5. F&N +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.800
2. CityDev -0.210
3. JSH 500US$ -0.120
4. OCBC -0.070
5. SGX -0.030
US markets closed up yesterday after better than expected earnings from JPM and Google despite the poor housing start data. Asia bourses took the cue and mostly opened positive for the day. However, they soon erased the gain as investors chose to take profit for the weekend and also waiting for more corporate earnings from US, in particular Citigroup tonight. Nikkei closed +1.74%, HSI +0.12% and SSE -1.20%. STI closed with minimum gain just below the 1,900 level. Offshore/Marine and bank counters were supporting the gain while property stocks offset the gain.
