FTSE STI closed 3,447.02, up 0.01 points or +0.00% with a total volume of 1.23b and a total value of S$955M. Total number of advance vs decline was 195 vs 225. Of the 30 component index stocks, 13 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 11 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.180
2. HongkongLand USD +0.080
3. Sembcorp +0.050
4. UOB +0.050
5. DBS +0.030
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD -0.240
2. JSH USD -0.220
3. Kep Corp -0.060
4. Jardine C&C -0.060
5. Wilmar -0.030
US markets fell at least 0.8% on the last day of 1Q and Asian bourses were mixed for the day with Nikkei -0.90%, SSE +1.66% and HSI +0.73%. STI swinging between gain and loss eventually closed flat in typical daily volume but thin value with 13 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
1Q window dressing for US markets led to fund managers dressed down locking in profit causing US markets to slide at least 0.8%. Asian markets with the weak lead started 2Q in mixed. China released its official PMI for March this morning coming in at 50.1 vs February of 49.9 and better than expectation of 49.8. Though the figure indicating slight improvement but investors still very positive that Chinese Government will be doing more monetary easing. Couple of events for the remaining of this week namely the US non-farm payroll data this Friday which investors use that to gauge when US Fed will rate hike and the Iran deal on whether an agreement could be reach tonight to lift Iran oil export despite the deadline was yesterday. A go-ahead signal might cause a slide in crude oil price as that will further add to the supply glut. Meanwhile after ECB version of QE, Eurozone economy starting to show sign of improvement with its latest PMI for March released this afternoon picked up to a reading of 52.2, 10-month high, better than the flash estimate of 51.9.
STI was lacklustre for the day closing flat after post-window dressing day. Investors starting to get cautious due to the short week. However, earning season play starts to build up in particular those S-Reits with obvious of buying ahead of their earning. Identify the fundamental stocks, position to buy on dip ahead of their earning result will be a good short-term play strategy.
