1. Jardine C&C +1.000
2. JSH 500US$ +0.780
3. JMH 400US$ +0.410
4. HKLand US$ +0.110
5. OCBC +0.070
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. CityDev -0.180
2. UOB -0.070
3. KepCorp -0.070
4. SPH -0.040
5. SingTel -0.020
US markets closed mixed last Friday with both DJ and S&P500 positive while Nasdaq slight in the red. After last Friday of 1Q window dressing, Asian markets were a bit on the tired side with performance pretty much mixed. Nikkei closed +0.26%, SSE closed for holiday with over the weekend China reported March PMI rose to 53.1, an 11-month high beating expectation of 50.5. HSI -0.16%. STI inched up 0.19% with a heavy volume day of 3.74b but total value of the day dipped below S$1b indicating penny stocks are in play for the day.
While investors waiting for earning season to start in about 1.5 to 2 weeks time, the blue chips were hardly moving. STI managed to hold in positive position mainly due to the Jardine group of shares. Investors shifting focus to penny stocks while waiting for clearer picture or direction from regional bourses. European markets initially started the day on the positive note but soon slipped into red after Euro-region manufacturing contracts for the eighth month in March bringing worries and concern of how mild the recession will be for Europe.
Over the weekend, EU Finance Ministers agreed on increasing the bailout funds but investors are now looking to IMF whether will it commit to further increase the bailout funds. Investors probably felt that with the current increased EU bailout funds by EU still not enough to provide the firewall for Italy and Spain.
While the blue chips might be subjected to selling pressure for this week after last week of window dressing, the lacking of volume in the blue chips could indicating the downside is pretty much limited and still in consolidation phase. Singapore corporate earning will commence on 13th April when SPH being the first blue chip to announce its earning.
