Market Summary -- 18th Jan 12

FTSE STI closed 2,795.40, down 20.45 points or -0.73% with a total volume of 1.43b and a total value of S$1.47b.  Total number of advance vs decline was 200 vs 275.  Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive and 24 closed negative.  The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-

1. JMH 400US$  +0.730

2. JSH 500US$  +0.400

3. Olam  +0.050

4. KepCorp  +0.040

5. ST Engg  +0.010

The top 5 loser component stocks were :-

1. Jardine C&C  -1.020

2. SIA  -0.220

3. HKLand US$  -0.150

4. UOB  -0.120

5. SembMar  -0.110

5. F&N  -0.110

5. DBS  -0.110

US markets closed at least +0.3% yesterday night with news of better than expected China growth, EU muted response to the S&P rating downgrade offset some misses corporate earning like Citibank.  Asian bourses were on profit taking mode after recent ran up and closed mixed.  Nikkei closed +0.99%, SSE -1.39% and HSI +0.30%.  STI closed -0.73% as investors took profit from recent ran up ahead of the CNY holiday.  Only 6 of the 30 index stocks managed to registered positive closing.

Investors will be focusing on tonight Greece debt swap deal and bond auction by EU nations and US corporate earning.  At this junction, over optimistic or pessimistic should not be the way.