FTSE STI closed 3,373.60, down 4.99 points or -0.15% with a total volume of 1.27b and a total value of S$1.01b. Total number of advance vs decline was 188 vs 228. Of the 30 component index stocks, 10 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 14 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.280
2. Wilmar +0.050
3. GLP +0.030
4. HongkongLand USD +0.030
5. StarHub +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD -1.030
2. Jardine C&C -0.330
3. JSH USD -0.120
4. UOB -0.090
5. DBS -0.070
US markets closed slight lower averaging a drop of 0.2%. Asian bourses were however mostly positive for the day with Nikkei +1.43% a new 15-year high, SSE +1.77% and HSI +0.34%. STI was on the opposite of regional bourses falling 0.15% in typical daily volume and value with 10 of the 30 index stocks managed to register gain.
US markets have yet to stabilize for the fear of sooner than expected rate hike and strengthening of USD, the sharpest rise so far as export activities will be hurt by it. Most Asian markets were able to buck the trend with positive closing due to BOK like most Central Bank did a rate cut and another news was IMF extended a fresh $17.5b 4-year loan to Ukraine in help to stabilize its economy which was hurt by last year Ukraine-Russia conflict. Investors will be again looking at US markets to see whether it can rebound given the fear of sooner than expected rate hike and the strengthening of USD.
STI was unable to match regional bourses performance as funds continued to outflow causing the index to fall again. The index was weighed down by bank and Jardine group of stocks and only last half hour of short-covering managed to lift the index from day low. While Asian nations have the luxury of monetary easing like interest rate cut to stimulate economic growth, Singapore does not have this tool and that could be one of the reason for funds outflow to other Asian nations. Hot monies move where ever there is opportunity and seldom follow fundamental, the outflow from Singapore will present bargain hunt opportunity for mid to long term investors, just have to wait for the selling to be done.
