FTSE STI closed 2,971.01, down 38.77 points or -1.29% with a total volume of 1.94b and a total value of S$1.54b. Total number of advance vs decline was 129 vs 368. Of the 30 component index stocks, 4 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 23 in the red. The 4 gainer component stocks were :-
1. SGX +0.020
2. Noble +0.015
3. SIA +0.010
4. GoldenAgri +0.005
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JSH USD -0.750
2. JMH USD -0.670
3. UOB -0.550
4. OCBC -0.190
5. DBS -0.190
US markets plunged more than 2% yesterday and Asian bourses continued the selling down again with Nikkei -2.98%, SSE -4.21% and HSI -1.53%. STI closed -1.29% in moderate volume and value with only 4 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The concern of China growth slow down will impact globally and the uncertain of whether US Fed will hike rate next month triggered sell down in US markets with both DJ and S&P500 wiping out all the gain this year. A China flash PMI for August released this morning continued to show slowing down with reading coming in at 47.1, a 6.5 years low, below forecast of 47.7. That further hurt Asian sentiment as the selling down continue. Further concerns by investors apart from China economy slowing down is the action of US Fed. It is not a matter of rate hike next month but rather a move will strongly indicate the US Fed is again behind the curve in its monetary policy. They could have hike rate some 6 months ago but just drag on and now the persistent of rate hike will do nothing constructive to global economy. Watch out for possible stimulus action being announced over the weekend from China.
STI in line with regional markets fell and at one point fall more than 2% but managed to recover some ground in the afternoon session as short-covering and some bargain hunting took place. From technical point of view, the intra-day pattern indicating a rebound is one the way. How far the rebound will be depend on what's happening over the next few weeks in the macroeconomics scene.
