FTSE STI closed 3,459.79, down 11.40 points or -0.33% with a total volume of 1.31b and a total value of S$1.23b. Total number of advance vs decline was 175 vs 258. Of the 30 component index stocks, 7 closed positive, 5 unchanged and 18 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. DBS +0.150
2. HongkongLand USD +0.100
3. SembMar +0.080
4. Sembcorp +0.050
5. ST Engg +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH USD -0.360
2. SIA -0.290
3. Jardine C&C -0.270
4. CityDev -0.160
5. SGX -0.080
US markets fell average 1% yesterday and Asian bourses were mostly in the red for the day. Nikkei still close for holiday, SSE -1.57% and HSI -0.41%. STI gap down on open and never recover closing -0.33% in typical thin daily volume and value with only 7 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US trade deficit widen according to yesterday data but the surprise better ISM service data failed to lift the markets as broad base closed lower. Asian markets taking the lead were in the red even a China HSBC PMI service data hit 2015 high failed to prevent markets from fallen into the red. The data next to watch will be US non-farm payroll data this Friday and tonight ADP number might give a clue of what to expect this Friday.
STI gap down below the 3,450 level but managed to recover to close above that, testing the support once. The next few trading sessions should be able to determine whether that support level is strong enough for STI to consolidate around that level. Again broad base selling was observed and any rebound was capped by profit taking but the volume was thin. With thin volume STI could slowly drift lower for the next 2 months.
