FTSE STI closed 3,435.66, up 19.75 points or +0.58% with a total volume of 642M and a total value of S$780M. Total number of advance vs decline was 226 vs 128. Of the 30 component index stocks, 22 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 5 in the red. The top 5 gainer index stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.720
2. SIA +0.130
3. HongkongLand USD +0.110
4. JMH USD +0.110
5. OCBC +0.080
The 5 loser index stocks were :-
1. ComfortDelGro -0.030
2. Wilmar -0.020
3. Olam -0.020
4. GoldenAgr -0.015
5. GLP -0.010
US markets ended the day positive with a gain of at least 0.1%. Asian bourses were having a pre-CNY rally with Nikkei hitting multi-year high with a gain of +1.18%, SSE +0.78% and HSI +0.19%. S&P500 hit another record high while DJ moved above 18,000 despite the no-deal from Greece to extend its debt. However, optimism was there for Greece to finally bow and meet the deadline of this Friday to apply for extension. For Asia, the only event today was BOJ after 2-days meeting maintained status quo on its monetary policy but investors strongly believe somewhere down the road BOJ will act especially now is clear that it is unable to meet its inflation target. Most of the Asian markets will be closed for rest of the week for CNY holiday with China shutting down a week. Should there be a deal from Greece during the festive period, Asian markets could expect to do a post-CNY rally when they resume trading next Monday.
STI after past days of drop finally usher the Year of Horse away with a CNY rally with bargain hunting snapping up most of the blue chips. Broader market also showing some buying interest probably due to short-term traders or punters getting position in anticipation of the CNY rally will continue next Monday. Event to look out for will be next Monday Singapore Budget Day. Most expecting Government will give up goodies to citizen but what there to lookout for will be any stimulus package handling out to boost economic growth in particular service sector, labor crunch issue, how to raise productivity and last but not least easing of property cooling measures.
