FTSE STI closed 3,419.05, down 0.10 points or -0.00% with a total volume of 1.25b and a total value of S$1.19b. Total number of advance vs decline was 196 vs 265. Of the 30 component index stocks, 8 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 20 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.240
2. ComfortDelGro +0.160
3. KepCorp +0.160
4. SingTel +0.020
5. Wilmar +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH USD -0.470
2. Jardine C&C -0.220
3. JMH USD -0.140
4. HongkongLand USD -0.110
5. DBS -0.060
US markets fell average at least 1% yesterday. Asian bourses were mostly in the red with Nikkei -1.06%, SSE -1.27% and HSI -1.07%. STI was one of the selected bright spot in regional markets closing flat in typical daily volume and value. Only 8 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
There was no surprise from US Fed with its consistent comment of "patient" with interest rate but it did upgrade US economy growth. The outcome provided little help and might even confuse investors sending US markets with another at least 1% drop. One possible concern is the current plunge in oil price and global deflation threat could mean US Fed sees the impact it will have and really patiently waited to hike rate (in another word, US economy is not really that strong as most expected). Another possibility is that US Fed though cited "patient", it already has a time frame to hike interest rate and with USD strengthening lately, the last thing you want to do is to hike interest rate and make USD even stronger thereby hurting US export. US export has played a significant part since 2008 crisis in helping US to recover from recession and to put a dent to it might not be wise choice.
STI swinging between gain and loss eventually closing flat. While the negative sentiment from regional markets put selling pressure on the stocks, bargain hunting on the other hand helped supporting the fall. The resilient of Singapore market as compared to regional mainly due to its largely in line with expectation of corporate earning.
