FTSE STI closed 3,041.25, down 8.40 points or -0.28% with a total volume of 1.51b and a total value of S$1.17b. Total number of advance vs decline was 137 vs 325. Of the 30 component index stocks, 8 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 16 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. HongkongLand USD +0.080
2. JSH USD +0.080
3. CityDev +0.070
4. Ascendas Reit +0.030
5. SPH +0.020
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. SIA -0.140
2. DBS -0.120
3. ST Engg -0.100
4. UOB -0.090
5. Kep Corp -0.060
US markets closed in the red yesterday and Asian bourses were mostly in the red with Nikkei -1.61%, SSE +1.24% and HSI -1.31%. STI again opened positive but gave up all the gain and closed in the red with a drop of 0.28% in typically volume and value with only 8 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
Weak corporate earning, China stock market and yuan devaluation fear coupled with tonight US Fed FOMC minutes led US markets into the red. Asian markets faced another bearish sentiment for the day with Japan releasing a slow export data for July (beat expectation but was lowered than June) and another volatile session for China stock market. Though SSE managed to close positive but nose dived more than 5% in earlier trading as fear of Chinese Government support for stock market and the yuan devaluation led to funds outflow.
STI trying to stage a rebound but lacked the strength as investors took any chance of rebound to exit for fear of the worse. Selling was again across the board as bargain hunting remained sideline given the lack of positive catalysts. Though the market is biased to the downside but there could be a technical rebound coming soon and this should not be seen as the worst is over.
