FTSE STI closed 2,888.38, down 27.73 points or -0.95% with a total volume of 2.25b and a total value of S$1.74b. Total number of advance vs decline was 142 vs 391. Of the 30 component index stocks, 2 closed positive, 23 closed negative and 5 remained unchanged. The 2 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.060
2. JSH 500US$ +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.420
2. UOB -0.240
3. KepCorp -0.180
4. DBS -0.160
5. Wilmar -0.130
US markets pull back yesterday night after a disappointing result by Alcoa and a worry of potentially government levy on banks. Asia bourses took the cue and traded in negative region through the day with Nikkei closed -1.33%, SSE -3.09% and HSI -2.59%. STI though closed below the 2,900 level but fared better than rest of the bourses with only a drop of 0.95%. Only 2 out of 30 of the component stocks managed to post a gain on close as investors all taking profit from the blue chips. Again penny stocks in particular s-shares attracted lot of interest. Investors will be looking at further corporate earnings. SPH being the first blue chip to announce its earning posted a 1Q net profit of S$144.7m vs S$73m.
