FTSE STI closed 3,065.91, down 10.74 points or -0.35% with a total volume of 1.76b and a total value of S$949M. Total number of advance vs decline was 151 vs 216. Of the 30 component index stocks, 5 closed positive, 8 unchanged and 17 closed negative. The 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SGX +0.070
2. CityDev +0.030
3. CapitaMall +0.020
4. CapMallsAsia +0.020
5. OCBC +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.950
2. JMH 400US$ -0.710
3. KepCorp -0.120
4. SIA -0.090
5. ST Engg -0.060
5. UOB -0.060
US markets closed negative last night after World Bank cut East Asia growth forecast and concern of EU debt crisis also weighed on investors. Asian bourses however were mixed for the day. Nikkei closed -1.06%, SSE +1.97% and HSI +0.54%. STI fell 0.35% in moderate volume but total value came in less than S$1b. Only 5 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
PBOC injected money into the financial system to provide liquidity and that was the reason for SSE and HSI to buck regional trend and headed up. The move benefited China domestically and nothing else. STI was very much on risk reducing at the moment in which high beta stocks were sold off and investors also await for earning season to start. The latest property curb still weigh in on investors. In addition, IMF today also warn of global economy growth. For investors who focus on the EU problem, what worth looking at will be the EU Summit on 18th - 19th for detail of policies to tackle the austerity vs growth issue.
US will be starting its earning season tonight with Alcoa being the first to report its earning after market close and followed by bank this Friday. As earning approaches, investors are strongly advise to focus on individual stocks and their fundamental and ignore the "follow other market performance to decide on buy or sell" and "looking at STI value to determine buy or sell" type of mindset. It won't work that way.
