FTSE STI closed 3,011.82, down 29.75 points or -0.98% with a total volume of 1.20b and a total value of S$1.05b. Total number of advance vs decline was 101 vs 252. Of the 30 component index stocks, 2 closed positive, 3 remained unchanged and 25 closed negative. The 2 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.180
2. StarHub +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.600
2. Jardine C&C -0.550
3. JSH 500US$ -0.370
4. DBS -0.150
5. KepCorp -0.120
US markets closed positive yesterday night finally but in a thin volume day after report of 2Q GDP came in +1.7% better than the +1.5% expected. Asian bourses however were on a different mind for the day with all undergoing sell mode since the start of the bell with Nikkei -0.95%, SSE -0.03% and HSI -1.19%. STI fell 0.98% in thin volume with only 2 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
Reason for the selling down ? Firmer US economic data means lesser chance of US Fed rolling out QE3 and markets for past weeks have been hyping up for a potential QE3 all thanks to none other than analysts. Printing more money does not solve the fiscal cliff US is facing.
Should market panic selling continue due to the fact that no QE3, that will be a signal to bargain hunt !!!
STI will have month end window dressing tomorrow but only for selective stocks.
