FTSE STI closed 2,988.10, up 12.59 points or +0.42% with a total volume of 3.07b and a total value of S$1.78b. Total number of advance vs decline was 355 vs 209. Of the 30 component index stocks, 14 closed positive, 12 closed negative and 4 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +1.000
2. JMH 400US$ +0.980
3. CityDev +0.400
4. Olam +0.120
5. UOB +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.380
2. KepCorp -0.070
3. F&N -0.050
4. SGX -0.040
5. ComfortDelGro -0.020
US markets were mixed yesterday night with S&P500 and Nasdaq managed to close in the positive after Fed minutes about maintaining low interest rate for extended period. Asia bourses were also mixed with Nikkei closed +0.09%, SSE -0.33% and HSI +1.82%. STI was inched away from the 3,000 level hitting an intra-day high of 2,996.20 and closed +0.42% at 2,988.10 with blue chips having mixed performance. Commodity stocks were leading the up while profit taking were seen from the offshore/marine stocks which capped the upside for the index. STI volume for the day was 3.09b but value only S$1.78b. This indicated penny stocks were in play as retail investors started to move in on the pennies after the blue chips have moved up so much. In general market is in cautious mode now as penny stocks without sound fundamental are moving up and blue chips are in consolidating mode ahead of their earnings. For traders who are trading for the earning season have to be extremely cautious about even after releasing of beating expectation result, stock prices might drop as prices have overrun of fundamental value.
