FTSE STI closed 3,193.59, down 19.13 points or -0.60% with a total volume of 1.69b and a total value of S$952M. Total number of advance vs decline was 126 vs 317. Of the 30 component index stocks, 5 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 19 in the red. The 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HKLand US$ +0.050
2. SIA Engg +0.030
3. SPH +0.020
4. ST Engg +0.010
5. THBEV +0.005
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.650
2. JMH 400US$ -0.410
3. JSH 500US$ -0.300
4. CityDev -0.160
5. UOB -0.150
US markets on average fell at least 1% with Nasdaq dropping over 2% after the non-farm payroll data. Asian bourses were mostly in the red taking cue from US markets. Nikkei -1.69%, SSE +0.74% and HSI -0.59%. STI in line with regional bourses fell 0.60% in thinner volume and value and only 5 of the 30 index stocks managed to register positive closing.
Number of jobs created last month was in line with expectation and unemployment rate rose to 6.7% as more people coming back to the job markets to hunt for job. The set of data was pretty much in line with expectation with no surprise either on the upside or downside. The selling down on US markets some said was in anticipation of more US Fed tapering next while others claimed market taking a break after all those record breaking sessions. However, the true could be US stock markets overrun its underlying fundamental and the drop in the stock markets (could be more next) was merely adjusting to the right valuation. Without any important events for the day, Asian bourses merely tracking the performance of last Friday US markets; sentiment driven in general.
STI was on a profit taking session as investors waiting to see how much pull back US markets will experience next. Not much of rationale involved but rather sentimental driven. Earning season will be starting soon for Singapore and that should be the one investors focusing on and not purely following sentiment. On the other hand, that could present opportunity for short-term traders who were targeting for earning play.
