FTSE STI closed 3,323.02, down 7.26 points or -0.22% with a total volume of 1.48b and a total value of S$853M. Total number of advance vs decline was 177 vs 235. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 7 unchanged and 14 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.120
2. HongkongLand USD +0.040
3. Jardine C&C +0.040
4. OCBC +0.040
5. GLP +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.480
2. CityDev -0.130
3. DBS -0.120
4. JSH 500USD -0.110
5. Genting SP -0.025
US markets closed at least 0.4% gain yesterday but Asian bourses were mostly in the red for the day. Nikkei -0.59%, SSE -0.99% and HSI -0.37%. STI in line with regional bourses dipped 0.22% in thin volume and value with 9 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
S&P500 on an intra-day basis passed the 2,000 level, closed some 2 points away from that level registering another record high for the year. The positive performance of US markets was mainly due to lack of negative events or news. However, the event for the day was Ukraine will be holding talk with Russia trying to resolve the geopolitical tension for the past months. While holding talks to resolve conflict is a good step moving ahead but that won't solve the issue overnight. As such, Asian investors were taking cautious ahead of the meeting with most taking profit causing Asian markets to dip into the red.
Singapore released its July manufacturing data today coming in at +3.3% on-year however the news was overshadowed by the general concern of global events. Profit taking was seen across the board for STI. Bargain hunting was waiting as should US markets pulled back tonight, tomorrow could get those cheaper. Though for the next few days STI could see weakness but it is still pretty much in range bound mode doing consolidation.
