FTSE STI closed 2,681.64, up 22.44 points or +0.84% with a total volume of 2.37b and a total value of S$1.87b. Total number of advance vs decline was 363 vs 159. Of the 30 component index stocks, 21 closed positive, 6 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +1.600
2. JMH 400US$ +1.200
3. JSH 500US$ +0.440
4. SIA +0.240
5. Wilmar +0.230
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. KepCorp -0.090
2. SingTel -0.030
3. OCBC -0.020
4. UOB -0.020
5. GoldenAgr -0.010
5. Genting -0.010
US markets were mixed last Friday despite US 2Q GDP showed a better than expected contraction of 1%. Asia bourses were in range bound for the day as they are looking for more corporate earnings and US unemployment rate data for further direction. Nikkei closed -0.04%, SSE +1.48% and HSI +1.14%. STI was ranged between 2,630 to 2,685. The buying momentum came in when European bourses and DJ future were in the green in the late afternoon session. This week, the 3 local banks will release their earnings and probably the direction of STI will be played out by the result. OCBC being the first reported a better than expected earnings of S$466M 2Q net profit vs S$425M the same period last year.
