FTSE STI closed 2,299.75, down 21.07 or -0.91% with a total volume of 1.08b and a total value of S$856M. Total number of advance vs decline was 144 vs 259. Of the 30 component index stocks, 5 closed positive, 22 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. KepCorp +0.050
2. StarHub +0.030
3. SMRT +0.030
4. SingTel +0.020
5. Olam +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -1.560
2. Jardine C&C -0.440
3. SIA -0.400
4. UOB -0.240
5. JSH 500US$ -0.140
US markets dropped at least 2% yesterday night after the announcement of job data. US companies slashed more jobs than last month and unemployment rate hit 9.5%. Investors were worrying of the economy despite recent good economic data as the labour market has yet to see a bottom. Asia bourses reacted to the drop with a negative open. However, they did managed to close off their respective intra-day low when investors came in to bargain hunt the battle down blue chips. Nikkei closed -0.61%, SSE +0.92% and HSI +0.14%. STI was traded in the negative region for the days in a narrow range between 2,280 to 2,300 in a thin volume day. Investors were also afraid of taking heavy positions over the weekend as US markets will be closed tonight ahead of Independence Day.
