FTSE STI closed 3,190.92, down 6.45 points or -0.20% with a total volume of 1.17b and a total value of S$1.07b. Total number of advance vs decline was 173 vs 283. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 14 closed negative and 7 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. KepCorp +0.160
2. F&N +0.070
3. ST Engg +0.050
4. HKLand US$ +0.040
5. Olam +0.040
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.800
2. JSH 500US$ -0.560
3. CityDev -0.420
4. Jardine C&C -0.120
5. UOB -0.060
US markets were marginally positive last Friday after opening in the red after news of China to increase bank reserve ratio and Hong Kong introduced more cooling measures for its property markets. Over the weekend, Ireland has agreed to take up EU/IMF bailout and the detail of the bailout will be announced probably middle of this week. Asian markets were mixed for the day and mostly range bound. Nikkei closed +0.93% while SSE -0.15% and HSI -0.35% in reaction to their respective cooling measures. STI with resistance at 3,200 range bound between 3,180 to 3,200 but failed to close positive despite European markets opening in the positive as investors were concerned that Singapore Government might follow Hong Kong introducing cooling measures for the property markets. STI closed -6.45 points with property and bank stocks weighing down the index. Investors are divided between the Irish bailout and tightening measures by China. Total volume for the day was thin at only 1.17b as most retails are sideline ahead of the uncertainties.
