FTSE STI closed 3,539.95, up 18.87 points or +0.54% with a total volume of 3.49b and a total value of S$1.59b. Total number of advance vs decline was 277 vs 224. Of the 30 component index stocks, 17 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 7 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD +0.670
2. JSH USD +0.450
3. UOB +0.250
4. DBS +0.210
5. CityDev +0.110
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.420
2. Kep Corp -0.070
3. SPH -0.050
4. SIA -0.040
5. SGX -0.040
US markets closed mostly higher yesterday and Asian bourses were mixed with Nikkei -0.20%, SSE -1.26% and HSI +0.21%. STI continued to move higher with a +0.54% closing in higher daily volume and typical value with 17 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
It was mixed corporate earning from US and a weak Retail Sales data too resulting in mixed closing for US markets. For Asia, it was about China 1Q GDP data coming in at +7% as expected and other data like Industrial Output and Retail Sales all missed expectation. While the weak data might suggest more monetary easing from Chinese Government but for the time being it was profit taking for most of regional markets.
STI playing catch up on regional markets gain past week edged up another 0.54%, a new 7-year high. with trading activity again on penny, small-cap and laggard stocks. For the time being, the bank stocks are providing the upside for the index offsetting any weakness in other blue chips and large cap stocks ahead of their earning result. Market will be biased towards the upside during the corporate earning season and that could last till middle of next month.
