FTSE STI closed 3,038.37, down 0.36 points or -0.01% with a total volume of 2.01b and a total value of S$1.41b. Total number of advance vs decline was 146 vs 185. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed negative, 4 unchanged and 17 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.140
2. JSH 500US$ +0.100
3. OCBC +0.080
4. CapMallsAsia +0.060
5. HKLand US$ +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.800
2. UOB -0.140
3. DBS -0.090
4. SembMar -0.040
5. Starhub -0.020
5. Wilmar -0.020
5. CityDev -0.020
US markets continued to shut down yesterday due to the hurricane while European bourses all closed positive. Asian bourses were mostly positive for the day with Nikkei +0.98%, SSE +0.32% and HSI +1.00%. STI failed to keep pace with regional bourses closed flat down 0.01% in heavy volume of more than 2 billion. 17 of the 30 index stocks posted positive closing.
US markets will re-open today after 2 days of shutdown due to the hurricane. Asian bourses were on month end window dressing today with most of the bourses closing positive. STI however with most of the funds chose to take profit failed to close positive.
Weak corporate earning, important events coming next month and weighing on the damage done to the economy by the hurricane, most investors were sideline waiting for clearer signal. Earning season also almost coming to a close in 2 weeks time. Investors should next focus on the fiscal cliff issue on US for next 2 months and lookout for bargain opportunity.
