FTSE STI closed 3,162.46, up 19.14 points or +0.61% with a total volume of 2.27b and a total value of S$1.36b. Total number of advance vs decline was 236 vs 175. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 7 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400US$ +1.600
2. JSH 500US$ +1.110
3. Jardine C&C +0.260
4. CityDev +0.220
5. HKLand US$ +0.100
5. Kep Corp +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. DBS -0.100
2. Semb Corp -0.070
3. SGX -0.040
4. ST Engg -0.020
5. Wilmar -0.010
5. StarHub -0.010
US markets sell off in the last hour causing a drop of at least 0.60%. Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei +1.01%, SSE -0.83% and HSI -0.24%. STI continued the upwards movement with another +0.61% closing in moderate volume and value. 17 of the 30 index stocks posted gain on close.
President Obama cautioned against complacency on Russian moves in Ukraine caused the last hour selling off in US markets as attention refocused back to the Ukraine-Crimea issue. The fallout will have impact on both EU and Russia economy without any doubts. On the contrary, Asia will be beneficial to that saga.
STI for the day ignore the negative sentiment from US markets overnight and some of the Asian bourses to surge ahead for the 3rd times this week. This was all due to bargain hunting and fund managers adjusting portfolio for 1Q window dressing next Monday. The smart one will be positioning for next month earning season. Should STI continue to stay resilient and biased towards the upside next week, short-covering will be coming in to further push the market higher.
