FTSE STI closed 1,818.61, down 34.24 points or 1.85% with a total volume of 1.77b and a total value of S$1.16b. Total number of advance vs decline was 125 vs 427. Of the 30 component index stocks, 2 closed positive, 26 closed negative and 2 remained unchanged. The 2 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Olam +0.050
2. KepCorp +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.700
2. SIA -0.480
3. Jardine C&C -0.400
4. JSH 500US$ -0.360
5. CityDev -0.160
US markets advanced last Friday after some better than expected corporate earnings and relatively positive news of the US bank stress tests. However, over the weekend, the outbreak of swine flu has caused Asia bourses to offset the relatively positive sentiment from US last Friday and under selling pressure. Nikkei gave up its gain to close +0.21%, HSI -2.74% and SSE -1.77%. STI opened positive but soon under selling pressure when HSI opened down. At one point it dipped below 1,800 level but bargain hunting brought the index back to above 1,800 level to close -1.85%. Investors are being cautious and taking profit in anticipation of a negative response from the US markets due to the swine flu.
