FTSE STI closed 3,338.44, down 6.67 points or -0.20% with a total volume of 1.34b and a total value of S$1.25b. Total number of advance vs decline was 199 vs 193. Of the 30 component index stocks, 12 closed positive, 2 unchanged and 16 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH 400USD +1.450
2. JSH 500USD +0.740
3. HongkongLand USD +0.140
4. SIA +0.140
5. Jardine C&C +0.120
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.640
2. KepCorp -0.100
3. OCBC -0.080
4. SembMar -0.070
5. Sembcorp -0.070
5. CityDev -0.070
US markets rallied for second day closing average +1.8%. Asian bourses however were mixed with Nikkei +0.18%, SSE -0.18% and HSI +0.35%. STI gave up earlier gain and fell 0.20% in typical volume and value with 12 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Bargain hunting lifted US markets to rally for the second day in a row ahead of tonight non-farm payroll data. For Asian markets, they started positive taking the cue from US but pared gain and closed mixed ahead of tonight US job report. China released its December CPI this morning coming in as expected +1.5%, near 5-year low and concern of deflation started to grow. Investors will be looking at tonight US non-farm payroll data. A very good data might lead to US Fed raise interest rate as soon as 2Q 2015. Rate hike plus strengthening of USD might be causing some nervousness in global stock markets in the mid-term.
STI gave up earlier gain to close in the red with oil-related and bank (in particular UOB) stocks weighing down the index. However, the drop was limited by the support of the Jardine group of stocks. Profit taking ahead of tonight US job data was the main reason. Oil price though stabilized these 2 days but oil-related were again under selling pressure probably due to the strengthening of USD. Oil price is not just affected by concern of oversupply but also the strengthening of USD. Next Monday will be the start of earning season and focus should be that.
