FTSE STI closed 3,292.21, up 1.22 points or +0.04% with a total volume of 1.20b and a total value of S$763M. Total number of advance vs decline was 150 vs 252. Of the 30 component index stocks, 10 closed positive, 5 unchanged and 15 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. CityDev +0.140
2. DBS +0.130
3. JSH 500USD +0.120
4. Kep Corp +0.070
5. AscendasReit +0.030
5. OCBC +0.030
5. SIA +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.390
2. HongkongLand USD -0.150
3. Jardine C&C -0.130
4. UOB -0.060
5. SembMar -0.050
US markets fell at least 1.5% yesterday and Asian bourses were mostly down for the day. Nikkei -0.88%, SSE +0.14% and HSI -0.38%. STI at one time fell below 3,280 but managed to crawl back the loss and closed flat again in thin volume and value with 10 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US markets plunged led by tech stocks despite mixed economic data from weekly jobless claims and durable goods orders. There is no surprising that fund managers are adjusting their portfolio for the year though still have another quarter till year end. Whatever profit that could realize will sell first as the next few months the interest rate hike will cause nervous to the market. Whatever gain the funds having now might just become loss next. There was only one economic data for Asia today, Japan CPI for August came in 3.1% adjusted for the post sales tax hike in April. That figure minus off the post sales tax hike effect still below the 2% target by BOJ. For rest of the regional bourses, most of them were just taking the cue from US markets overnight.
STI on open fell below 3,280 but regain those loss to close above that figure indicating some underlying resilience in the market. With no surprise funds continue to adjust their portfolio together with punters cutting loss and some short-selling. STI need to absorb all those selling before any reasonable rebound coming. Watch out for bargain hunt opportunity on high yield stocks the next few days.
