FTSE STI closed 3,415.53, down 6.58 points or -0.19% with a total volume of 1.38b and a total value of S$1.02b. Total number of advance vs decline was 210 vs 229. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 20 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. DBS +0.210
2. StarHub +0.040
3. SIA +0.030
4. SembMar +0.020
5. ThaiBev +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.370
2. JMH USD -0.350
3. JSH USD -0.310
4. UOB -0.100
5. SGX -0.100
US markets fell at least 0.45% yesterday and Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei -0.59%, SSE +0.53% and HSI -0.96%. STI swinging between gain and loss eventually closed flat in typical daily volume and value with only 6 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US markets pulled back from record high as investors took profit and adopting cautious approach. Asian markets were mixed for the day with most of them in the red as profit taking kicked in. Next event to lookout for will be today euro area PMI and tomorrow ECB meeting in which investors are expecting ECB to announce more in detail like when the QE of bond buying program will start.
STI fared slightly better than most regional markets with its flat performance as investors and traders adopting cautious approach. Most of the counters already entered range bound stage and that probably creating short-term trading opportunity with their range.
