FTSE STI closed 3,341.07, down 3.82 points or -0.11% with a total volume of 1.39b and a total value of S$1.18b. Total number of advance vs decline was 164 vs 226. Of the 30 component index stocks, 9 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD +0.670
2. JSH 500USD +0.250
3. Ascendas Reit +0.060
4. SGX +0.040
5. CapitaMall +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.190
2. UOB -0.120
3. Kep Corp -0.120
4. Noble -0.075
5. SembMar -0.060
US markets fell mostly by 0.8% yesterday and Asian bourses were mixed for the day. Nikkei -0.64%, SSE +0.22% and HSI +0.79%. STI swinging between gain and loss eventually closed -0.11% in typical volume and value with 9 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Crude oil price fell again after analysts lowered oil price forecast and that sent US markets on the drop again. Asian markets were mostly in the red tracking US markets but SSE and HSI managed to buck the trend after China trade data. It came in better than expected for both export and import with export rose 9.9% vs 6.8% of expectation and import fell 2.3% vs drop of 7.4% of expectation. Data were not rosy as suggesting China economy still on a weak side and should requiring stimulus in the mid-term. US started earning season yesterday with Alcoa reported a better than expected set of result after market closed. Crude oil price continued the slide for the day and question should be asked why analysts after crude oil price has fallen more than 50% then they released negative analysis ? Are they really analyzing the situation or just plain following the trend ?
STI closed in the red with O&G stocks weighing down the index. S-Reits however bucked the main trend firming up ahead of their earning. Market should be seeing rotational play with stocks that are about to release their earning firming up for the time being.
