FTSE STI closed 3,324.39, up 19.57 points or +0.59% with a total volume of 1.98b and a total value of S$1.12b. Total number of advance vs decline was 201 vs 202. Of the 30 component index stocks, 18 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 6 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. UOB +0.310
2. DBS +0.200
3. OCBC +0.110
4. HongkongLand USD +0.100
5. SGX +0.080
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH 500USD -0.450
2. CityDev -0.060
3. ST Engg -0.030
4. StarHub -0.030
5. Olam -0.020
5. Genting SP -0.020
US markets closed around -0.10% yesterday and Asian bourses managed to close positive for the day with Nikkei +0.19%, SSE +1.36% and HSI +0.71%. STI moved up another 0.59% in typical daily volume and value with 18 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US markets reacted to ECB decision of reassessing QE in the next quarter, a rather shift in the normal tone that it will do whatever it could to spur growth and fight deflation. Europe markets fell more than 1% to that. Asian bourses started the day mixed but managed to reverse the loss and closed positive ahead of tonight US non-farm payroll data. Crude oil price also fell yesterday after Saudi Arab cut its export price. There should be no extreme surprise to the US non-farm payroll.
STI like most regional bourses started the day in the red but managed to recover and close positive. Oil-related stocks were having a volatile day with wild swing but closed mixed. For broader market, there was an underlying buying strength probably due to some fund managers doing year end window dressing and that should continue into next week before they going off for break.
