FTSE STI closed 3,417.77, down 7.17 points or -0.21% in a total volume of 1.88b and a total value of S$1.11b. Total number of advance vs decline was 194 vs 260. Of the 30 component index stocks, 11 closed positive, 1 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD +0.720
2. ComfortDelGro +0.100
3. HongkongLand USD +0.070
4. CityDev +0.060
5. Jardine C&C +0.060
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. DBS -0.120
2. JSH USD -0.100
3. OCBC -0.080
4. Kep Corp -0.060
5. Wilmar -0.050
US markets rebounded yesterday closing at least +0.60%. Asian bourses were however mostly down for the day with Nikkei +0.39%, SSE -6.50% and HSI -2.23%. STI fell 0.21% in higher daily volume and value than yesterday with 11 of the 30 index stocks registered gain.
US markets managed to recover at least 2/3 of the loss from previous day with Nasdaq hitting record high but Asian markets were mainly being sold down with China sank 6.5%, worst sell off in 4 months. The only data for the day was Japan Retail Sales data coming in at +5%, first increase in 4 months despite just a tad below expectation of 5.4%. Nevertheless, this helped Nikkei to close positive and record another 15-years high. Rest of regional markets were hit by selling pressure and a sign that correction could be coming next month and the North Asian bull run need to pause.
STI slipped hovering around the support level of 3,414 and that could be broken given the lack of market participation, bargain hunting and money rotating out. Tomorrow should be able to confirm whether June will be the best time for bargain hunting. Funds will always follow where the bull run goes but will leave a void for bargain hunting. Best of all, funds seldom get it right !
