FTSE STI closed 3,299.78, down 8.02 points or -0.24% with a total volume of 3.11b and a total value of S$1.34b. Total number of advance vs decline was 118 vs 316. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 22 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +1.370
2. UOB +0.080
3. GLP +0.070
4. CapitaMall +0.040
5. ST Engg +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. SIA -0.150
2. DBS -0.130
3. Jardine C&C -0.120
4. HKLand US$ -0.120
5. JSH 500US$ -0.080
US markets rebounded about 0.4% from previous day of 1% drop as investors cheered on central bank action, from BOJ and ECB against weak jobless claims data. Asian bourses were mostly down for the day. Nikkei +1.58%, SSE -0.11% and HSI -2.73%. STI closed in the red but was not heavily sold down as daily volume and value remained thin. Only 6 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
Apart from Japan in which investors still upbeat from BOJ aggressive monetary easing measure yesterday, rest of the bourses were on cautious mode as investors taking profit and stay sideline awaiting for tonight US non-farm payroll data. Non-farm payroll data might be not so good as jobs cut due to sequestration kicked in. This data will be of different view. Looking at hard fact it is not a good set of data and that should bring some worries to the labor market recovery but on the other hand, the weak labor market will allow US Fed to maintain monetary easing. So for those pinning on US Fed non-stop printing money, that should be a good news. We could have a scenario in which short term the weak job data will be an excuse to sell down the market but when the market has dropped enough, it will be the flip that citing US Fed will continue to maintain loose monetary policies and stock valuation is cheap to attract back the buyer.
Earning season will be starting next week, market will be on its own mind as investors focusing on earning, remember monitor the continue improvement from quarters to quarters and not compared to the same quarter last year.
