FTSE STI closed 3,455.78, up 0.87 points or +0.03% with a total volume of 1.41b and a total value of S$971M. Total number of advance vs decline was 215 vs 222. Of the 30 component index stocks, 15 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 14 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JSH USD +0.520
2. JMH USD +0.300
3. Jardine C&C +0.150
4. DBS +0.130
5. CapitaMall +0.050
5. Kep Corp +0.050
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.100
2. SIA Engg -0.060
3. HongkongLand USD -0.040
4. SIA -0.030
5. Olam -0.030
5. CityDev -0.030
US markets closed mixed yesterday and Asian bourses were mixed too but mostly weak with Nikkei -0.98%, SSE +0.07% and HSI +0.14%. STI closing flat in typical thin volume and value with 15 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US Retail Sales for last month came in flat below expectation and that raise concern of its economic growth thereby putting a pause in markets rebound. The weak data caused USD to weaken and make several of Asian currencies stronger making some mixed performance in Asian markets. The strengthening of Yen due to weakening of USD caused Nikkei to fall almost 1% while SSE and HSI just managed to stay above water thanks to the Chinese lose momentary support.
STI spent most of the time in the red just managed to close with a tiny gain on close due to the Jardine group of stocks pushing up the index. With a weak sentiment most of the blue chips were sold down either due to profit taking or cutting loss by traders after yesterday rebound. The lack of positive catalysts definitely putting a very resistive upside for STI for the time being.
