FTSE STI closed 3,120.88, down 2.94 points or -0.09% with a total volume of 3.88b and a total value of S$1.17b. Total number of advance vs decline was 232 vs 193. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 8 unchanged and 13 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.680
2. JSH 500US$ +0.550
3. Jardine C&C +0.390
4. Kep Corp +0.070
5. HKLand US$ +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.130
2. OCBC -0.120
3. SIA -0.110
4. Semb Corp -0.090
5. SGX -0.060
US markets again closed in the red after weaker than expected Service PMI data. Asian bourses were mostly in the red but managed to close mixed. Nikkei -0.59%, SSE +0.08% and HSI +0.13%. STI swinging between gain and loss closed flat at -0.09%. Again volume was moderate but value was slightly higher than past days. Only 9 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
When US Fed finally decided to taper last month, investors cheered as that signed US economy is on the recovery resulting in US markets creating record high but now with latest economic data pointing to weaker than expectation, they might be wondering could US Fed assess incorrect on US recovery or themselves were just plain overly optimistic. The latter will be the answer without any doubt. Next to watch this Friday non-farm payroll data. Asia not without problem as weaker than expected China data for the past days also strongly indicating investors were overly optimistic in the past when China economy rebound from low last year.
STI looked uncertain swinging between positive and negative on the surface but fund managers are back and definitely have earning season on their mind at the moment. The trading activity less those penny stocks (which are punting) suggested accumulation is in the process. SPHREIT will be the first to announce its corporate earning in this earning season on 9th Jan 2014. Focus should be on corporate earning.
