FTSE STI closed 3,092.14, up 18.42 points or +0.60% with a total volume of 1.58b and a total value of S$950M. Total number of advance vs decline was 249 vs 181. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 7 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500US$ +1.040
2. JMH 400US$ +0.600
3. DBS +0.180
4. Kep Corp +0.130
5. UOB +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.550
2. GLP -0.040
3. Semb Corp -0.570
4. Olam -0.020
5. ComfortDelGro -0.015
US markets closed negative with a drop of average 0.3% last Friday. Asian bourses were however mixed for the day with Nikkei -0.35%, SSE +0.96% and HSI -0.30%. STI after past days of selling down managed to rebound closing +0.60% in thinner volume and value as compared with past days. 22 of the 30 component stocks recorded positive closing.
The event over the weekend was the outcome of Crimea's vote and with probably no surprise, majority of the the votes support Crimea detachment from Ukraine so as to rejoin Russia. This outcome more or less was prepared by EU and US as talks of more sanctions on Russia will carry out if the outcome of Crimea's referendum was to rejoin Russia even before the Sunday vote. The drama next will be how Russia and EU and US will work a way out of that. Sanctions on Russia though will have big impact on Russia's economy, EU will not benefit much from it. Neither side will be a clear winner and the most probable beneficial to those sanctions will be Asia.
STI managed to recover some losses from past days but the thinner volume and value indicating most still cautious. Singapore released its non-oil export data for February this morning coming in at a surprise of +9.1% yoy and that might have lifted the sentiment in STI. As a whole majority are sidelined to monitor for clearer outcome from the Ukraine issue but one should not lose focus on the long-term underlying fundamental especially Asia (be it developed or emerging).
