Market Summary -- 23rd Dec 11

FTSE STI closed 2,676.47, up 11.67 points or +0.44% with a total volume of 509M and a total value of S$462M.  Total number of advance vs decline was 231 vs 128.  Of the 30 component index stocks, 19 closed positive, 8 closed negative and 3 remained unchanged.  The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-

1. Jardine C&C  +1.010

2. KepCorp  +0.280

3. DBS  +0.130

4. SembMar  +0.050

5. CityDev  +0.040

5. StarHub  +0.040

The top 5 loser component stocks were :-

1. JSH 500US$  -0.350

2. JMH 400US$  -0.180

3. HKLand US$  -0.040

4. SIA Engg  -0.020

5. UOB  -0.010

5. OCBC  -0.010

5. ComfortDelGro  -0.010

US markets closed positive yesterday night due to better than expected economic data in jobless claims offsetting a weaker than expecting GDP.  Asian bourses were mostly positive for the day.  Nikkei closed for Emperor's birthday, SSE +0.85% and HSI +1.37%.  STI closed +0.44% in another very thin volume day ( less than 600 million ) ahead of the long Christmas weekend as investors staying sideline ahead of the holiday.  19 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing and despite the thin volume, selective buying was observed probably positioning for next week year end window dressing.  STI will reopen on 27th Dec 2011.

This afternoon, Singapore November CPI came in at +5.7% vs +5.4% expected while November manufacturing output came in -9.6% on Year vs +12.2% expected.