FTSE STI closed 3,294.19, down 14.61 points or -0.44% with a total volume of 2.70b and a total value of S$1.10b. Total number of advance vs decline was 164 vs 230. Of the 30 component index stocks, 8 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HKLand US$ +0.120
2. CapitaMall +0.040
3. GLP +0.040
4. CapMallsAsia +0.025
5. Capitaland +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.750
2. UOB -0.310
3. JSH 500US$ -0.240
4. JMH 400US$ -0.240
5. OCBC -0.150
US markets closed positive with DJ and S&P500 continued to hit new high, into uncharted region as weekly jobless claims data indicated a surprise sharp drop, easing some worries on the labor market. Asian bourses were on a profit taking day with all closing in the red. Nikkei -0.47%, SSE -0.58% and HSI -0.06%. STI gave back yesterday gain and slipped back to below 3,300 level in another thin volume and value day. Only xx of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
Not much of negative news enable US markets to reach new high and investors taking off profit from Asian bourses for the weekend. US corporate earning will get into higher gear next week as US banks will be releasing their earning. Before that, Retail Sales data tonight will be another watchable event. G8 meeting will be happening over the weekend and apart from the normal economic discussion, another one will be on North Korea. Most believe North Korea could be doing a nuke test over the weekend or next Monday. Though majority would like that to happen but a handful of minority probably want that to happen. Should a nuke test being conducted, do not take it as a fear factor and rush for the exit door from stock markets. Rather, that will be the one worth watching for as it will indicate how resilient the current stock markets will be.
Singapore released its 1Q2013 GDP this morning, surprising coming in with a contraction of -1.4% vs +2.5% as manufacturing sector was the main drag. That gave some bearish sentiment to STI on top of profit taking as investors awaiting for earning report from SPH after market closes. The bright spot for the day was S-Reit outperformed the market in general as investors rushing in to chase for dividend yield. Next week will be more eventful as corporate earning kicks in and should those earnings show improvement or resilient, sentiment could spread to other stocks including the penny.
