FTSE STI closed 3,382.29, up 12.39 points or +0.37% with a total volume of 2.11b and a total value of S$1.32b. Total number of advance vs decline was 227 vs 175. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 7 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.150
2. JSH 500US$ +0.150
3. SIA +0.130
4. JMH 400US$ +0.100
5. GLP +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.250
2. KepCorp -0.030
3. Genting SP -0.025
4. SembMar -0.010
5. SPH -0.010
US markets closed average +1.0% last Friday after a better than expected non-farm payroll data with jobs created more than expected and unemployment rate dropped to 7.5%, just 1% more than what US Fed's target is. S&P500 also hitting new high above the 1,600 level while DJ on intra-day basis hit above 15,000 level. Asian bourses taking the cue were positive for the day. Nikkei was closed for holiday, SSE +1.17% and HSI +0.99%. STI crawled back some losses last Friday with a 0.37% gain but fail to regain the 3,400 level. Daily volume and value were as usual thin. Of the 30 component index stocks, xx managed to register positive closing.
The positive sentiment from US markets brought some buying in Asian bourses but most investors still maintain cautious. It is a stage in which investors feared of loosing out as stocks moved higher and at the same time afraid of buying into and getting caught should a pull back occurred. One of the 2 will give way and markets will have a big movement next.
STI activity was again dominated by the blue chips while the penny stocks remained muted as investors are fighting bull and bear inside them. The much talk about second leg up is here and should be slowly moving up till around August to September then come a muted year end.
