FTSE STI closed 3,236.80, down 15.20 points or -0.47% with a total volume of 1.71b and a total value of S$1.71b. Total number of advance vs decline was 140 vs 357. Of the 30 component index stocks, 11 closed positive, 18 closed negative and 1 remained unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. KepCorp +0.180
2. Jardine C&C +0.120
3. ST Engg +0.080
4. StarHub +0.060
5. UOB +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -1.400
2. JSH 500US$ -0.620
3. OCBC -0.180
4. SIA -0.120
5. F&N -0.070
5. Olam -0.070
US markets closed negative last Friday down at least 0.5% despite a better than expected consumer confident data as concern of China might provide more tightening measures over the weekend ( with SSE fell 5% on Friday ) weighing on investors. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei closed +1.06% after a better than expected GDP figure being released today, SSE recovered from 1% loss to close +0.97% ( earlier there was talk about China ban on the 4 biggest banks to provide loan to property developers for remaining of the year which caused SSE to fell 1% but later it was denied of such news and SSE rebound ) and HSI -0.81%. STI managed to get some gain in the very early trading hours of the day but the sentiment with other regional bourses caused STI to drop to a low of 3,230 before rebound to close at 3,236.80, down 0.47%. A slight negative DJ future coupling with negative European markets opening ( concern of Ireland required bailout ) cause investors to take profit off the table. The rebound of USD also caused commodity stocks to pull back. As the earning season over, investors are now looking at the macro economic events/data for direction of stock markets. STI despite today drop still trading within the uptrend channel with the lower boundary at 3,200. With thin volume, most of the retails are sideline at the moment to remain cautious and this period, STI might just consolidate between 3,200 - 3,300 as potentially fund managers might be adjusting their portfolio for the year end rally.
