FTSE STI closed 2,571.31, down 25.99 points or -1.00% with a total volume of 2.33b and a total value of S$1.89b. Total number of advance vs decline was 152 vs 364. Of the 30 component index stocks, 8 closed positive, 19 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.180
2. SIA Engg +0.040
3. JSH 500US$ +0.040
4. Genting +0.030
5. HKLand US$ +0.020
5. ST Engg +0.020
5. SMRT +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.840
2. DBS -0.300
3. UOB -0.200
4. KepCorp -0.170
5. CityDev -0.150
US markets fell at least 1% yesterday night due to a weak inventory data and also investors were cautious ahead of the FOMC meeting. Asia bourses reacted to the drop trading in negative region. Nikkei closed -1.42%, SSE -4.66% and HSI -3.03%. STI fell to an intra-day low of 2,564 but managed to recover the loss to close 2,571 with investors buying up battle down blue chips and also a relatively flat opening for European markets. Bank led the drop for STI. Investors will be looking at tonight outcome of FOMC meeting when expected the Fed fund rate will remain unchanged but what will the Fed Chief will be saying about the economy and what action US Fed will carry out in future to help recover the economy. Other economic data like international trades and retail sales figure will be in investors scope also to determine the state of US economy.
