FTSE STI closed 3,113.46, up 20.78 points or +0.67% with a total volume of 2.51b and a total value of S$1.87b. Total number of advance vs decline was 324 vs 205. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive, 7 closed negative and 1 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +1.140
2. JSH 500US$ +0.580
3. CityDev +0.340
4. JMH 400US$ +0.320
5. SIA +0.280
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Wilmar -0.090
2. SPH -0.030
3. CapitaMall -0.030
4. SembMar -0.020
5. NOL -0.020
US markets rallied on average 2% last Friday after a better than expected durable goods order data. Asian bourses took the cue and traded in the positive region for the day. Nikkei closed +1.39%, SSE +1.41% and HSI +1.00%. STI hit an intra-day high of 3,125.30 before pulling back to close at 3,113.46 up 0.67%. Daily volume hit 2.5billion but the total value was just only S$1.87b suggesting most active play was on the penny stocks. 22 out of the 30 component stocks were able to close positive with Jardine group, property and bank counters leading the buying up. A flattish opening by the European markets also caused some cautious on investors as they chose to take profit and maintain cautious. Market might be slowly moving up but lacking of any strong catalyst to propel further forwards. With earning season to be starting next month and coupling with end of 3Q just days away, funds might be adjusting their portfolio and hence directly providing some support to the market. Immediate support is around the 3,043 level while a possible larger scale of pull back can see 2,930 as the support.
