FTSE STI closed 3,269.50, down 0.45 points or -0.01% with a total volume of 6.67b and a total value of S$1.69b. Total number of advance vs decline was 108 vs 391. Of the 30 component index stocks, 13 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 15 closed negative. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +2.190
2. Jardine C&C +0.370
3. JSH500US$ +0.190
4. UOB +0.070
5. KepCorp +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. HKLand US$ -0.120
2. SIA Engg -0.080
3. SIA -0.080
4. SembCorp -0.050
5. ST Engg -0.050
5. OCBC -0.050
5. Capitaland -0.050
US markets posted negative closing yesterday due to GDP data coming in at +0.1% for 4Q12 vs +0.5% expected. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei +0.41%, SSE -0.26% and HSI -0.61%. STI closed -0.01% in heavy volume but thin value. Only 13 of the 30 index stocks posted positive closing.
China released its February PMI data coming in at 50.1 vs 50.5 expected, showing slowing down in the manufacturing activities. That piece of news took some hit on investors sentiment on top of the US sequestration in which nothing was announced yesterday and technically across the board spending cut to save US$85b per year will take place today. There could be still nothing from the Congress today on the squestration and that will bring the whole issue to the postponed debt ceiling issue to May. The squestration is something cannot ignored, the impact will not only hurt US economy but global also.
STI again dominated with penny play but this time round can sense a rushing of exit for the penny stocks as fear of US markets might "crash" when the squestration in focus. Market will be volatile from March till June when events from US, Europe and China take center stage.
Any correction will be time for slowly accumulation for the next 3 months, focus only on those with good fundamental, price trading at a discount to its NAV, company still making profit and with low and manageable debt level.
