FTSE STI closed 3,290.99, down 1.82 points or -0.06% with a total volume of 1.26b and a total value of S$701M. Total number of advance vs decline was 195 vs 212. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 5 unchanged and 13 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HongkongLand USD +0.080
2. SembMar +0.060
3. JMH 400USD +0.050
4. GLP +0.020
5. Noble +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Kep Corp -0.080
2. CityDev -0.070
3. DBS -0.060
4. UOB -0.050
5. OCBC -0.050
5. Jardine C&C -0.050
US markets rebounded with gain of average 0.8% after 3 days of drop. Asian bourses taking the cue were mostly positive for the day. Nikkei +1.28%, SSE +0.07% and HSI -0.64%. STI fell 0.06% in thin volume and value with 12 of the 30 index stocks registered gain.
Oversold rebound coupling with positive new home sales data caused US markets to rebound after 3 days of drop with tech stocks leading the rebound. Asian markets taking the cue were positive on open but closed mixed due to profit taking. There was also report that China President is considering replacing current PBOC chief and that sparked possibilities that the new chief will adopt a more loose monetary policy. Furthermore, investors are also anticipating perhaps more stimulus coming the way from Euro after the recent weak economic data.
STI swinging between gain and loss just closed flat with the selling pressure from funds doing quarterly window dressing and short-term traders taking any upwards movement to take profit. STI might be facing selling pressure till end of the month despite positive sentiment from regional bourses. Just few months to end of the year, fund managers will probably take this opportunity to lock in whatever profit they could for their portfolio to gather an acceptable return for the year. Putting those aside, nothing much has changed for STI in term of fundamental.
