FTSE STI closed 3,174.65, up 7.22 points or +0.23% with a total volume of 4.33b and a total value of S$847M. Total number of advance vs decline was 280 vs 160. Of the 30 component index stocks, 10 closed positive, 7 unchanged and 13 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +1.530
2. JSH 500US$ +0.840
3. Jardine C&C +0.150
4. HKLand US$ +0.030
5. GLP +0.020
5. SGX +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. CityDev -0.080
2. SIA Engg -0.060
3. ST Engg -0.040
4. Wilmar -0.030
5. UOB -0.020
5. StarHub -0.020
5. SIA -0.020
5. SembMar -0.020
5. OCBC -0.020
US markets closed 2013 with DJ and S&P500 hitting record high with the whole year indices up at least 25%. Asia bourses started 2014 in mixed fashion. Nikkei was closed for holiday, SSE -0.31% and HSI +0.14%. STI move up a bit in heavier volume but thin value. 10 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The first economic event for 2014 was China PMI for December 2013. It was released yesterday coming in at 51.0 down from November 51.4. Though was a drop but still in expansion mode. As such, SSE was dragged down by that data. HSI opened positive but sank into negative due to the China PMI data but managed to close positive with a 0.14% gain.
Singapore released its 4Q GDP this morning coming in at +4.4% vs expectation of +4.8% and making FY2013 GDP to be at +3.7% in line with MTI forecast of between +3.5% to +4%. That data provide little spark to STI as investors also monitored regional markets. Volume was heavy due to traders coming back to punt in the penny stocks while the blue chips still lacking in interest as fund managers have yet to be back in full action. The first 2 week of 2014 might be focusing on global economic data but soon the focus will shift to corporate earning from middle of this month onwards. At the moment, price levels are pretty well supported prior to the release of the corporate earning, upside might be capped as fund managers suppressing to do accumulation. However, do note that do not be overly optimistic in the corporate earning.
