FTSE STI closed 3,145.41, down 5.24 points or -0.17% with a total volume of 2.68b and a total value of S$1.01b. Total number of advance vs decline was 160 vs 256. Of the 30 component index stocks, 10 closed positive and 20 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +0.190
2. HKLand US$ +0.080
3. UOB +0.050
4. GLP +0.040
5. StarHub +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ -0.300
2. Kep Corp -0.160
3. SIA -0.100
4. SGX -0.080
5. Semb Corp -0.060
US markets closed mixed yesterday after stronger than expected ADP job data and US Fed minutes. Asian bourses however were mainly in the red with Nikkei -1.50%, SSE -0.82% and HSI -0.91%. STI after yesterday strong performance closed -0.17%, a better performer than regional bourses. Volume and value were thinner than yesterday. xx of the 30 index stocks closed positive.
The better than expected ADP job data brought expectation of a set of non-farm payroll data tomorrow and with a 9-1 in favour of tapering in the Fed minutes, that further boost confidence that US economy is indeed on recovery. The only data that matter most today was China inflation coming in below expectation of 2.5%, down from 3% in November. That figure gave investors some relief that Chinese Government will not tighten policies. However, that failed to excite investors, sending Asia markets into the red. There is a sense that if the US economy continued to show strong recovery, another US Fed tapering will happen within this year and that probably is one of the short-term overhang for Asia markets.
STI after yesterday strong gain was expected to pull back due to profit taking after Walls Street mixed closing. The micro-penny continued to be weak, penny mainly range bound and the blue chips were subjected to profit taking. Earning season will be starting soon and that might give some catalysts to boost the market upwards but again do not be overly optimistic on the earning.
