FTSE STI closed 1,802.39, down 45.59 points or 2.47% with a total volume of 1.2b and a total value of S$1.08b. Total number of advance vs decline was 141 vs 297. Of the 30 component index stocks, 3 closed positive, 24 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The 3 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SingTel +0.070
2. SembCorp +0.020
3. SMRT +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.460
2. Jardine C&C -0.400
3. CityDev -0.360
4. DBS -0.350
5. KepCorp -0.320
US markets retreated yesterday 0n news of Sun Microsystems and IBM deal called off and new worries of US banks having bad earnings report in the coming earning season. Asia bourses also subject to profit taking for the day when investors chose to take profit ahead of tonight the start of US reporting season. Nikkei closed -0.28%, HSI -0.46% and SSE +0.80%. STI closed -2.47% just sitting at the 1,800 psychological level. There was a brief spell when STI went below the 1,800 level. Bank, Property, Commodity and Offshore/Marine counters led the fall.
