FTSE STI closed 2,896.43, up 22.10 points or +0.77% with a total volume of 1.14b and a total value of S$989M. Total number of advance vs decline was 240 vs 181. Of the 30 component index stocks, 21 closed positive, 4 closed negative and 5 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. CityDev +0.220
2. OCBC +0.160
3. UOB +0.140
4. DBS +0.120
5. KepCorp +0.090
5. Capitaland +0.090
The 4 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ -0.460
2. Jardine C&C -0.440
3. JMH 400US$ -0.360
4. SIA -0.040
US markets closed mixed with Dow Jones and S&P500 closed in the positive with a last hour buying of financial stocks whereas Nasdaq closed in the red with tech stocks leading the drop. Asia bourses were also mixed for the day as lacking of direction from US. Nikkei closed -0.28%, SSE +0.53% and HSI -0.27%. STI managed to stay above in the positive region throughout the day as investors are snapping up the blue chips with bank, property, offshore/marine and commodity counters pushing the index up. STI closed at intra-day high of 2,896.43 just less than 4 points away from the 2,900 level. Investors will be looking at today US Fed's decision on the interest rate. Most believe Fed will maintain the low rate for an extended period of time and what investors want to know is when Fed will decide to raise interest rate.
