FTSE STI closed 3,301.04, up 30.74 points or +0.94% with a total volume of 8.18b and a total value of S$1.64b. Total number of advance vs decline was 349 vs 126. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed negative and 24 closed positive. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +1.200
2. UOB +0.360
3. HKLand US$ +0.260
4. DBS +0.120
5. OCBC +0.120
5. StarHub +0.120
The 4 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ -0.570
2. SIA -0.240
3. Jardine C&C -0.090
4. SembCorp -0.030
5. ComfortDelGro -0.005
5. Olam -0.005
US markets closed mixed yesterday with DJ and S&P500 hitting 5-year high while Nasdaq closed in the red. Asian bourses were also mixed as most of the bourses still close for CNY holiday. Nikkei -1.04% after yesterday almost 2% rally and both SSE and HSI were closed. STI reopened after the long CNY break playing catchup closed +0.94% with very heavy volume of more than 8b but total value was thin. 26 of the 30 index stocks posted positive closing.
As corporate earning coming to an end or tone down, investors were focusing on global events. North Korea did a nuke test yesterday resulting in heavy criticism from other nations and global bourses in reaction to that were mixed. Investors also focusing on Europe after last week EU leaders finally finalized the EU budget which came in less than 1b euro and the so-called political risk in Spain and Italy.
STI started the year of snake with a bang posting almost 1% gain with super heavy volume as investors punt on the penny stocks. The index was held up mainly by the bank stocks.
While corporate earning is coming to an end, blue chips should be consolidating resulting in speculating in the penny stocks for quick profit. For those speculating on the pennies, do cautious on the downside risk. Investors will also be focusing on the Singapore Budget Day on 25th February to see whether any measures will be announced to boost economy growth.
