FTSE STI closed 3,289.53, down 9.01 points or -0.27% with a total volume of 3.42b and a total value of S$1.51b. Total number of advance vs decline was 157 vs 250. Of the 30 component index stocks, 11 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 17 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +0.920
2. JMH 400US$ +0.400
3. KepCorp +0.070
4. OCBC +0.060
5. UOB +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.550
2. CityDev -0.200
3. HKLand US$ -0.120
4. Capitaland -0.110
5. SIA -0.060
US markets continued to advance with DJ hitting another new record high for the 3rd day in a row. Asian bourses mostly closed positive with Nikkei +2.64%, SSE -0.24% and HSI +1.41%. STI failed to close positive with a drop of 0.27% in thin volume and value day.
US positive jobless claims data from yesterday coupling with better than expected ADP data the day before providing some positive sentiment ahead of tonight non-farm payroll data. ECB yesterday maintained interest rate unchanged with positive tone of Europe economy will be in better shape this year. This morning, Japan reported its 4Q12 GDP with a 0.1% growth, crawling Japan out of mild recession and the weakness of Japanese Yen rallied the Nikkei to multi-years high. China reported its export data for February coming in at +21.8% yoy better than expectation and that further providing another positive sentiment for regional bourses though SSE closed in the red.
Investors are watching tonight US non-farm payroll in which most expected unemployment rate might notch up another 0.1% as more people coming back to find jobs given the labor market is improving. These type of economic news might lift the global markets slightly higher or providing some support to the downside but market still need to consolidate, building a firmer base for a more sustainable upside later.
