FTSE STI closed 3,334.56, up 20.83 points or +0.63% with a total volume of 1.32b and a total value of S$1.10b. Total number of advance vs decline was 237 vs 170. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 10 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500USD +0.260
2. DBS +0.250
3. OCBC +0.240
4. UOB +0.150
5. CityDev +0.090
5. KepCorp +0.090
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD -0.080
2. Jardine C&C -0.050
3. SembMar -0.040
4. ST Engg -0.030
5. SingTel -0.030
5. ComfortDelGro -0.030
US markets closed with at least 0.2% gain yesterday. Asian bourses were however mostly in the red. Nikkei -0.32%, SSE -0.21% and HSI -0.66%. STI outperformed regional bourses with a gain of 0.63% in typical volume and value with 17 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Both DJ and S&P500 hit another record closing yesterday as global worries eased a bit. Asian bourses however were mostly in the red. BOJ kept QE intact after latest data showed Japanese economy into recession and investors also started to question the need of a snap election and what other measures can Japanese PM Shino Abe produce to boost growth. Both SSE and HSI down the third day since the start of the SSE-HKEx connect. Investors will be looking at tonight US Fed FOMC minutes for last month for clue of the sensitive issue of interest rate hike. As US markets keep on hitting new record closing, they appear to be bullish but cautious of bubble slowly forming and a burst this time will be painful.
STI managed to edge out gain for the day due to the positive trading of the bank stocks. Broader market was however dominated by profit taking in the afternoon session. The movement of the broader market showing most still very cautious on STI, index might slowly moving up due to the selective play of the blue chips but broader market might not follow.
