FTSE STI closed 2,857.67, down 22.81 points or -0.79% with a total volume of 1.81b and a total value of S$1.73b. Total number of advance vs decline was 146 vs 371. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive, 20 closed negative and 4 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.820
2. JSH 500US$ +0.720
3. JMH 400US$ +0.620
4. CityDev +0.160
5. CapitaMall +0.040
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.480
2. KepCorp -0.310
3. DBS -0.240
4. SIA -0.160
5. SGX -0.120
US markets on average rallied 4% yesterday night after news of Europe's plan to fight its debt. However, the rallied was muted by Asian bourses today as profit taking kicked in, investors remained cautious of the bailout plan. Nikkei closed -1.14%, SSE -1.90% and HSI -1.37%. There was also concern about China as the drop of SSE today has more or less entered bear market region. Concern of inflation and more tightening measures by the China Government. STI traded in the positive region in the morning but failed to overcome the 2,900 level and closed down 0.79% with most of the blue chips closed in the red. STI has yet to negate the bearish trend since breaking down of the mini head & shoulder formation 2 weeks ago. A break above 2,940 would resume uptrend and a break below 2,750 would potentially see further downside at 2,700 or 2,580. Another scenario is STI could also range bound within the range of 2,750 - 2,900 before the next major movement occurred.
