FTSE STI closed 2,288.16, down 28.40 points or 1.23% with a total volume of 2.23b and a total value of S$1.77b. Total number of advance vs decline was 148 vs 423. Of the 30 component index stocks, 4 closed positive, 23 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The 4 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SingTel +0.120
2. SIA Engg +0.050
3. ST Engg +0.010
4. Cosco +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.860
2. UOB -0.400
3. JMH 400US$ -0.300
4. CityDev -0.290
5. JSH 500US$ -0.260
US markets fell yesterday night with strengthening of the USD and drop of crude oil price. Asia bourses reacted to the fell with opening in the red. Profit taking and short-selling drove most of the indexes closed at least 1% down. Nikkei -2.86%, SSE -0.49% and HSI -1.80%. Bank, Property, Offshore/Marine and Commodity stocks led the drop in STI while defensive stocks provding the support. S-shares were also under selling pressure when investors chose to take profit after the run up since March. STI dropped to an intra-day low of 2,264 breaking the 2,280 support level before rebound to close just around the support level. Failure to regain support at 2,280 in the next few sessions will see STI heading towards the next support at around the 2,150 level. Investors are looking for US economic data like PPI and CPI to track the inflation level as current fear is about inflation rather than financial stability in US.
