FTSE STI closed 3,253.20, up 6.88 points or +0.21% with a total volume of 1.87b and a total value of S$1.25b. Total number of advance vs decline was 249 vs 198. Of the 30 component index stocks, 18 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 10 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD +0.150
2. JSH 500USD +0.110
3. DBS +0.100
4. CityDev +0.060
5. Keppel Corp +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.580
2. UOB -0.130
3. SIA Engineering -0.050
4. HongkongLand USD -0.050
5. StarHub -0.040
US markets closed positive last night and Asian bourses were mostly positive for the day. Nikkei +3.01%, SSE +0.17% and HSI +0.11%. STI closed 0.21% in thinner volume and moderate value with 18 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
It was a volatile session for US markets despite closing positive. Markets opened positive after Coca-Cola's positive earning but soon sank into the red before reversal to close positive. After the bell, both Intel and Yahoo reported another positive set of earning and that set tone for Asian bourses to be positive for the day. Event for the day was China 1Q2014 GDP coming in at +7.4% slightly better than expected of +7.3% but down from the +7.7% a quarter ago. That set of data in a way eased some concern of China economy slowing down and perhaps a hard landing. The ongoing Ukraine issue still largely unresolved and might come back to impact the markets.
STI like regional bourses was positive for the day but the buying wasn't that aggressive and profit taking was detected. For STI, short-term pull back will happen soon, for those who play on chart pattern breakout better have some escape plan in mind. A gain now can turn into loss tomorrow !
