FTSE STI closed 3,194.40, down 7.75 points or -0.24% with a total volume of 1.26b and a total value of S$949M. Total number of advance vs decline was 159 vs 282. Of the 30 component index stocks, 7 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 17 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD +0.240
2. HongkongLand USD +0.050
3. Jardine C&C +0.050
4. CityDev +0.040
5. SembMar +0.010
5. Wilmar +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.170
2. SIA -0.170
3. OCBC -0.090
4. JSH 500USD -0.080
5. SIA Engg -0.030
5. DBS -0.030
5. ComfortDelGro -0.030
US markets sank at least 1.3% yesterday and Asian bourses closed in the red despite swinging between gain and losses. Nikkei -2.38%, SSE -0.25% and HSI -0.41%. STI closed -0.24 in thin volume and value with 7 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US markets started flat after past days of selling down but plunged in the last hour after news that medical personals were called to an Emirates flight suspecting of Ebola case. That definitely created much fear on top of the worrying on global economic slowdown and panic selling. Asian bourses started the day down in the red in reaction to the performance of US markets overnight but some managed to parse those losses and move into positive region but failed to close positive. Further pressure in the afternoon was the releasing of Euro zone economic data as investors fear of very negative data might signal Euro zone slipping back into recession. While the Euro zone situation might be caused fear but the situation is not something unexpected or news to Euro zone as ECB in the past months have been highlighting the weakness and they are ready to act.
Singapore released its 3Q GDP this morning coming in at +2.4% but was below expectation of +2.8%. That no so good set of data somehow put a brake to STI despite there was some underlying for a rebound. With corporate earning starting this week, investors will be focusing on those numbers and should they have no surprise to the downside, it should help to build up strength for the rebound.
