FTSE STI closed 3,422.11, up 18.22 points or +0.54% with a total volume of 1.31b and a total value of S$1.17b. Total number of advance vs decline was 195 vs 238. Of the 30 component index stocks, 18 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 9 in the red. The top 5 gainer index stocks were :-
1. JMH USD +1.450
2. JSH +0.840
3. UOB +0.140
4. CityDev +0.090
5. Sembcorp +0.090
The top 5 loser index stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.420
2. SIA Engg -0.060
3. SIA -0.060
4. SingTel -0.060
5. StarHub -0.040
US markets closed at least +0.60% yesterday but Asian bourses were mostly in the red for the day with Nikkei -0.06%, SSE -2.15% and HSI -0.74%. STI did what opposite of regional bourses closed +0.54% in typical daily volume and value with 18 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
DJ and S&P500 both closed at another record high and Nasdaq hit above 5,000 level for the first time since 2000 due to positive economic data and interest rate cut from China. With Nasdaq hitting the tech bubble 15 years ago, investors were debating whether will there be another tech bubble this time. Should look at stock price of individual company rather than an index to decide on it. Asian markets were unfortunately to track the gain from US markets as investors were surprised by RBA to hold back further easing. Meanwhile, investors were at the moment staying cautious prior to this Thursday where China annual National People's Congress in which economic blue print and target will be revealed.
STI managed to recover part of yesterday loss mainly due to bargain hunting of the blue chips and probably some short-covering too. However, the market strength still relatively weak hence capping any potential upside. With corporate earning over, funds doing portfolio adjustment, traders staying cautious and the lack of positive catalysts, STI will be entering range bound mode.
