FTSE STI closed 2,986.63, up 26.33 points or +0.89% with a total volume of 2.90b and a total value of S$1.19b. Total number of advance vs decline was 257 vs 114. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed negative, 3 unchanged and 21 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +1.080
2. JSH 500US$ +0.300
3. KepCorp +0.280
4. UOB +0.280
5. CityDev +0.200
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.300
2. GLP -0.050
3. CapitaMall -0.050
4. ST Engg -0.020
5. StarHub -0.010
5. Olam -0.010
US markets closed positive yesterday night ahead of today Thanksgiving holiday. Asian bourses taking the cue were mostly positive for the day. Nikkei +1.56%, SSE -0.72% and HSI +1.02%. STI in line with regional bourses rose 0.89% in heavy volume of more than 2 billion. 21 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
After the broke down of Greece bailout talk, investors will be looking towards the next few days when EU leaders meet to decide on the EU budget and also resolve of Greece bailout issue. For US, investors are temporary putting aside the fiscal cliff issue as Congress can only commence negotiation after 26th November. HSBC this morning released China November flash PMI coming in at 50.4, the first expansion after 13 months of contraction. That news boosted Asian bourses on an uplift apart from China. With that encouraging data, investors can see China chances of more stimulus dim down and perhaps was the reason for SSE closing in the red.
STI though heavy volume but mainly due to penny and micro-penny stocks play. Investors still cautious in bargain hunting at the blue chips. An observation on STI was defensive and high-yield stocks were attracting some buying interest after past weeks of selling down. Further observation was selective bargain hunting in cyclical stocks in offshore/marine sector and stocks that have China exposure.
While the sentiment might be shifted to slightly more positive now, investors should still exercise cautious as the negotiation on the fiscal cliff still an unknown in term of details.
