FTSE STI closed 3,075.63, up 7.65 points or +0.25% with a total volume of 2.11b and a total value of S$1.52b. Total number of advance vs decline was 281 vs 122. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 9 closed negative and 4 unchanged. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.990
2. Jardine C&C +0.650
3. SIA +0.210
4. JSH 500US$ +0.140
5. CityDev +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. F&N -0.090
2. KepCorp -0.040
3. SembCorp -0.030
4. DBS -0.030
5. Capitaland -0.020
US markets closed flat yesterday and Asian bourses after yesterday selling down managed to register positive closing for the day. Nikkei +1.19% after BOJ expanded stimulus program, SSE +0.40% and HSI +1.16%. STI in a heavy volume of more than 2 billion for the day rose 0.25% with 17 of the index stocks posted positive closing.
The global events still mix and more or less the same (the underlying) with various Central Banks boosting stimulus and EU problem still remain the same until some policies being proposed by EU leaders to tackle the austerity vs growth problem and that might see some movement in next month EU Summit. US with the QE3 underlying problem still the same, fiscal cliff. No printing money can resolve fiscal cliff. China slow growth which leads to potentially more stimulus from the Government took another hit with the China-Japan dispute of the isle. The disruption would definitely cause some trade revenue loss for the 2 countries.
There were mix movement for STI today. Investors switching out of high-yield stocks causing most prices to fall and those short-term and contra players also rushing to get out as trade due. At the same time, laggard stocks are attracting buying trying to play catch up. Investors should focus on fundamentally sound high-yield stocks, once the price drop to attractive value, that is the cue to get in. With global interest rate on a low till mid 2015 and Singapore inflation still stubbornly on the high side, the best bet is to put money inside high-yield stocks and the opportunity to get when others are dumping is there. Watch out for the attractive yield level to get the entry level. Another good news to APB and F&N shareholders, ThaiBev has indicated that they agree to the APB acquisition by Heineken and that means ThaiBev will just concentrate on acquiring rest of F&N businesses less APB.
