FTSE STI closed 3,004.50, up 15.22 points or +0.51% with a total volume of 1.97b and a total value of S$858M. Total number of advance vs decline was 202 vs 156. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed negative, 5 unchanged and 19 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +1.370
2. Jardine C&C +0.660
3. DBS +0.100
4. HKLand US$ +0.080
5. CapitaMall +0.040
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ -0.140
2. KepCorp -0.120
3. SIA -0.090
4. UOB -0.040
5. SembMar -0.020
5. SembCorp -0.020
US markets closed at least +1.30% last Friday as anticipation of good Black Friday sales lifted the sentiment. Asian bourses were however mixed for the day with Nikkei +0.24%, SSE -0.49% and HSI -0.24%. STI managed to rise 0.51% in heavy volume but thin value, indicating penny plays dominated the session. 19 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
EU budget talk breakdown last Friday and have to delay till 2013. EU Finance Ministers will be meeting today again to discuss on Greece bailout funds. Speculation was that haircut has to be taken for the Greece's debt. US Congress will commence on the fiscal cliff negotiation. While the Republicans are willing to compromise to reach a deal, the actual detail still unknown. There are thousand of one way to compromise. Investors should not just take the face value of Republicans willing to compromise and starts to get overly bullish. The detail of the fiscal cliff deal still very much needed to judge whether it is a good long term plan or just some stop gap measures for the time being.
Singapore reported its October Industrial Output this afternoon coming in at -2.1% on year vs -1.0% expected. Though STI has managed to recapture the 3,000 level, investors should not be getting excited either. Most of the activity has been with the penny and micro-penny stocks which most of the funds are not allowing to invest in. Funds presently are sideline, monitoring for global events before re-entering the market. Investors still need to be cautious during the US Congress fiscal cliff negotiation.
