FTSE STI closed 3,413.26, up 3.13 points or +0.09% with a total volume of 1.05b and a total value of S$1.02b. Total number of advance vs decline was 239 vs 173. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 10 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH USD +0.390
2. JMH USD +0.360
3. SGX +0.150
4. OCBC +0.080
5. Capitaland +0.070
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.210
2. SIA -0.150
3. Jardine C&C -0.040
4. DBS -0.030
5. Ascendas Reit -0.030
US markets pulled back yesterday and Asian bourses were mostly in the red with Nikkei -0.21%, SSE +0.11% and HSI -0.39%. STI was higher in earlier but again pared gain to close flat in thin daily volume and value with 16 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
A weakening of USD failed to prevent US markets to dip into the red and Asian markets were mostly in the red for the day after the China HSBC flash PMI for March came in below expectation at 49.2, down from the previous month of 50.7. That initially sent SSE fell more than 1% but managed to recover and close with a slight gain. However, for regional markets, it were not the case.
While STI managed to out performed most regional markets with a flat closing but the market activity was relatively weak as most staying sideline waiting for clearer direction. There should be 2 events to look forwards to for STI in the short-term; 1Q window dressing next week and corporate earning mid of next month. How 1Q window dressing perform next week will definitely give some clue of how the funds are positioning themselves for the coming corporate earning next month.
