FTSE STI closed 3,450.18, up 10.32 points or +0.30% with a total volume of 1.60b and a total value of S$1.09b. Total number of advance vs decline was 254 vs 171. Of the 30 component index stocks, 18 closed positive, 4 unchanged and 8 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD +0.950
2. HongkongLand USD +0.210
3. CityDev +0.100
4. JSH USD +0.080
5. Kep Corp +0.080
5. SIA +0.080
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C -0.540
2. UOB -0.090
3. DBS -0.060
4. Wilmar -0.030
5. OCBC -0.010
5. CapitaMall -0.010
US markets managed to close with a small gain and Asian bourses continued on the positive side with Nikkei +0.30%, SSE +2.83% and HSI +1.70%. STI in line with regional bourses ended the day with a gain of 0.30% but with those typical thin daily volume and value. 18 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
There was much of events and news yesterday allowing US markets to rebound and S&P500 closed at another record high. Asia markets in particular North Asia continued the surge with Nikkei and SSE heading towards multi-year high. Rest of the region mostly managed to edge out a gain due to the positive sentiment. Investors could be putting their focus on tonight from a US Fed Chairman speech to pick up cue of the sensitive interest rate hike. For the time being, the June possibility is almost nil as most consensus are going for September. The Greek's debt is another in focus. Deal Greece will get a lifeline, no deal, Greece will go bankrupt and should exit euro.
STI with the help of bargain hunting from blue chips edged out a small gain. Next event will be next week with a possibility of 1H 2015 window dressing by some of the fund managers. There is a positive momentum in the market but the upside could be capped.
