FTSE STI closed 3,226.71, down 17.28 points or -0.53% with a total volume of 1.16b and a total value of S$894M. Total number of advance vs decline was 132 vs 278. Of the 30 component index stocks, 4 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 24 in the red. The 4 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HongkongLand USD +0.040
2. SembMar +0.040
3. SGX +0.030
4. SPH +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.840
2. Jardine C&C -0.640
3. JSH 500USD -0.360
4. CityDev -0.200
5. DBS -0.160
US markets dropped at least 1.5% yesterday with another sell off. Asian bourses taking the cue were mostly in the red. Nikkei -1.19%, SSE reopened after week long holiday to post 0.77% and HSI -0.68%. STI fell 0.53% in thin volume and value day with only 4 of the 30 index stocks registered gain.
IMF downgraded its global growth forecast for this year and 2015 to 3.3% and 3.8% respectively. It also highlighted the concern of geopolitical issue which could lead to more downside risk, citing euro zone has 1 in 3 chance of getting to recession. In addition it also warned off certain financial markets of getting into bubble state. While no specific mention of which markets, it will not be surprised if US, Europe and Japan are among those and they could be faced with further selling. Ebola case has landed in Europe with Spain reported of such case and that provided some nervous to the markets as well. It is yet to be seen will Asia getting such a case too. US Fed FOMC minutes and corporate earning will be on the card for investors for today.
STI in line with regional bourses faced selling pressure from the start of the bell and again bounced off around the 3,220 region. However, the daily volume and value was thin and big portion of the drop was contributed by the Jardine group of stocks While most will be downbeat by IMF recent assessment, one need to note IMF is based on past data and not all stock markets are facing bubble state. At once, STI is one of those market not in bubble state. Singapore economy will not be spared by the weakness in global economy but the domestic portion of the economy still resilient. That will create opportunity to bargain hunt stocks that are only domestically exposed but were sell down due to the irrational reason.
