FTSE STI closed 3,503.25, down 21.94 points or -0.62% with a total volume of 2.60b and a total value of S$1.52b. Total number of advance vs decline was 151 vs 343. Of the 30 component index stocks, 6 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SIA +0.060
2. SGX +0.050
3. ComfortDelGro +0.040
4. Sembcorp +0.040
5. AscendasReit +0.010
5. Olam +0.010
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.790
2. JMH USD -0.690
3. JSH USD -0.250
4. DBS -0.170
5. HongkongLand USD -0.130
US markets fell at least 1% last Friday and Asian bourses were all in a sea of red with Nikkei -0.09%, SSE -1.61% and HSI -2.02%. STI fell 0.62% in moderate daily volume but typical value with only 6 of the 30 index stocks managed to register a gain.
Fear of Greece could bankrupt and exit Euro as they tried to negotiate with EU, IMF and international creditor for a bailout funds and China new regulation to clamp down margin trading in stock market triggered the sell off in US markets last Friday. EU Finance Ministers will be having an emergency meeting this Friday to discuss of Greece issue. Should Greece unable to comply with the bailout term to get that funding, it will default on its debt end of this month and raise the possibility of Greece exit from Euro. The new regulation from Chinese Government to clamp down on its highly leverage margin trading might put a dent in its bull market but that should not affect rest of the world stock market given that the clamp down is targeted towards the retailer in China stock market. On Sunday, PBoC made a surprise 1% RRR cut, the deepest so far in order to boost its slowing economy. The action was expected but the deep cut was a surprise but those failed to prevent Asian markets from sinking into the red for the day.
STI in line with regional bourses sank into the red as short-term traders and punters exit positions. The Jardine group of stocks tracking HSI markets basically weighed down STI that all. STI is now trying to establish a support around the 3,460 to 3,500 level. While external events might put a negative sentiment into the market, STI itself is not in an overly extended valuation and with so far corporate earning came at no negative surprises, the dip could be an opportunity.
