FTSE STI closed 3,107.11, up 28.91 points or +0.94% with a total volume of 1.92b and a total value of S$1.41b. Total number of advance vs decline was 245 vs 151. Of the 30 component index stocks, 4 closed negative, 5 unchanged and 21 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. UOB +0.430
2. DBS +0.180
3. HKLand US$ +0.160
4. KepCorp +0.140
5. Capitaland +0.120
5. Jardine C&C +0.120
The 4 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ -0.630
2. SPH -0.170
3. JSH 500US$ -0.030
4. IHH -0.005
US markets closed positive with at least 0.3% gain yesterday with jobless claims fell and optimism on the US fiscal cliff talk. Asian bourses were however mixed for the day. Nikkei -0.19%, SSE +1.60% and HSI -0.26%. STI rose 0.93% with moderate volume and value, 21 of the 30 index stocks registered positive closing.
Most would consider the optimism of the fiscal cliff talk did the trick for market upswing today but from the trade pattern and volume, it was more like fund managers doing end of the year book closing, something similar to window dressing. Fund managers normally started to do book closing for the year from mid November onwards and somewhere in mid December they will be going on holiday. Optimism for the fiscal cliff can be but definitely not an overly one. There will be US unemployment data tonight and market could be divided between the data and the fiscal cliff talk.
For STI, apart from fund managers doing the book closing, the ongoing focus still on Olam. Olam share price rebounded today with 0.69% but with very low volume. Many retail might be still holding on to the stock hoping for an eventually happy ending and some brave heart might just dive in to buy. Have to remind strongly that, Olam currently is facing fundamental issue and not by looking at charts to determine where the price would go next. Technically, after so many days of selling down, a potential technical rebound could occur but that will not negate the sour fundamental issue it is having now. Better not use Ah Q mentality to hoping for the better. Eventually, the share price will follow the fundamental. For those holding out for hope, investment is something if the fundamental turns sour, you just have to sell away regardless profit or loss. If selling with loss, the capital can be used to invest in other more fundamental strong stocks and recover from the loss. Holding on, locking up the capital will only do you no good as you will be missing other opportunities.
