FTSE STI closed 2,712.15, up 3.67 points or +0.14% with a total volume of 2.68b and a total value of S$1.96b. Total number of advance vs decline was 317 vs 269. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 9 closed negative and 5 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.180
2. DBS +0.160
3. UOB +0.160
4. SembMar +0.120
5. SembCorp +0.070
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.600
2. JSH 500US$ -0.140
3. HKLand US$-0.080
4. OCBC -0.080
5. SingTel -0.020
5. F&N -0.020
US markets rallied yesterday night on the upbeat of JP Morgan and Intel earning allowing DJ to close above the 10,000 level for the first time this year. This created an upbeat sentiment for Asia bourses for the day as they traded in the positive region but close off intra-day high due to profit taking. Nikkei closed +1.77%, SSE +0.31% and HSI +0.51%. STI traded above the 2,700 level throughout the day with a high almost hitting the 2,740 level but the gain soon parse off in the afternoon when Asia bourses closed off their respective high, Europe markets opened in the negative and DJ future was flat. Investors taking off some profit while awaiting for more corporate earnings from US and locally. After market closed, SGX reported a 1Q net profit of S$94.1M vs S$84.5M of the same quarter last year. Other main news for the day was OCBC acquiring ING business.
