Market Summary -- 28th Jul 11

FTSE STI closed 3,189.85, down 3.69 points or -0.12% with a total volume of 1.73b and a total value of S$1.44b.  Total number of advance vs decline was 243 vs 270.  Of the 30 component index stocks, 8 closed positive, 20 closed negative and 2 remained unchanged.  The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-

1. JMH 400US$  +1.300

2. Olam  +0.070

3. HKLand US$  +0.030

4. GoldenAgr  +0.015

5. NOL  +0.015

5. NobleGrp  +0.015

The top 5 loser component stocks were :-

1. Jardine C&C  -0.930

2. UOB  -0.210

3. JSH 500US$  -0.090

4. CityDev  -0.090

5. ST Engg  -0.060

5. SIA  -0.060

US markets fell on average 2% with a weak durable goods order data and continued no resolution to the debt ceiling issue.  As 2nd August deadline is less than a week away, potentially rating downgrade if no long term solution is proposed worried investors.  Asian bourses took the cue and traded in negative region for the day.  Nikkei closed -1.45%, SSE -0.54% and HSI +0.13%.  STI recovered earlier loss and close relatively flat with a drop of 3.69 points only.  Commodity stocks cushioned the drop and DBS reported a better than expected earning this morning which caused the share price to rebound from morning low also help lifted the index from day low.  The momentum to move higher due to strong corporate earning is there but is currently resisted by the concern of the US debt ceiling.