FTSE STI closed 1,783.96, down 18.43 points or 1.02% with a total volume of 1.08b and a total value of S$973M. Total number of advance vs decline was 170 vs 270. Of the 30 component stocks, 12 closed positive, 16 closed negative and 2 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.500
2. JMH 400US$ +0.080
3. OCBC +0.060
4. SMRT +0.050
5. HKLand US$ +0.030
5. F&N +0.030
5. SPH +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.360
2. DBS -0.330
3. CityDev -0.300
4. KepCorp -0.160
5. JSH 500US$ -0.140
US markets fell last night when investors took profit out before the earning season starts. At closed of the bell, Alcoa announced a worse than expected result and a gloomy outside for the next few quarters. Asia markets took the cue and all opened down. Nikkei closed -2.69%, HSI -3.04% and SSE -3.76%. STI traded below the 1,800 level since the start of the bell and never reclaim that support level. Banks, Properties, Commodities and Offshore/Marine counters led the fall when investors took out profit after the recent run up. On the brighter side, defensive counters were mostly up supporting the index.
