FTSE STI closed 3,167.43, up 14.14 points or +0.45% with a total volume of 2.95b and a total value of S$1.22b. Total number of advance vs decline was 206 vs 163. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 4 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.210
2. UOB +0.110
3. DBS +0.100
4. Kep Corp +0.090
5. SIA +0.080
The 4 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.280
2. JSH 500US$ -0.130
3. SGX -0.010
4. CapMallsAsia -0.005
US markets closed mixed yesterday with DJ hitting fresh record high. Asian were mostly positive in the last day of 2013. Nikkei was closed for holiday, SSE still trading now at +0.74% and HSI closed +0.26%. STI ended the day with a 0.45% gain but ended the year with just +0.01% gain. Day volume and value were higher for just a half-day trade with 22 of the 30 index stocks closed positive.
As the year 2013 draw to a close, though general market sentiment is positive but trading was pretty much muted mostly due to lack of fund managers which are away on holiday. Starting the year 2014 tomorrow will be China PMI data, following other economic data from other countries before heading into the earning season. That should be an interesting period as fund managers will be back and they will have to adjust their portfolio for 2014.
STI despite have a strong performance in the second half of the month could only manage to end the year flat. With fund managers away on holiday, most of the activities were on the penny stocks where punters and traders coming back after the collapse of the trio in October. While market might on a rally when it reopens next year, the focus should be on the coming earning season in which most of the companies will be releasing their FY earning coupling with dividend declaration. A prelude to what to expect in 2014, do not get overly optimistic though US economy is recovering and do not get overly pessimistic in Asia markets which most analysts expecting to be underperformed in 2014, they could be the one that bring you the best bargain hunt.
