FTSE STI closed 2,955.94, up 10.51 points or +0.36% with a total volume of 1.98b and a total value of S$1.44b. Total number of advance vs decline was 277 vs 189. 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 +1.990
2. JSH USD +1.120
3. Jardine C&C +0.260
4. Olam +0.160
5. SIA Engg +0.090
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. SIA -0.090
2. DBS -0.080
3. Capitaland -0.080
4. OCBC -0.070
5. ST Engg -0.050
5. SingTel -0.050
US markets rose for the 2nd day with a gain of at least 2% yesterday. Asian bourses taking the cue were mostly positive for the day with Nikkei +3.03%, SSE +4.90% and HSI -1.04%. STI gain 0.36% in moderate volume and value than past days with 18 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
A gain of at least 2% allowed US markets to move out of correction phase after a better than expected 2Q GDP coming in at +3.7% vs the previous estimate of +2.3%. The global concerns might have eased a bit but those worries still cannot be totally ignored. While the current market turmoils might have caused US Fed to think twice of rate hike next month but the improving economic data could paint a different picture given that US Fed has all along indicating the rate hike will be data driven. For SSE the past 2 days of rebound might look impressive as most believe it was the work of state funds buying that lead to the technical. However, the fact remains that still majority of the stocks still suspended to avoid the market turmoils. An event which investors will be monitoring this weekend will be the Jackson Holes meeting for Central Bankers. Investors will be looking out for clues of when US Fed will hike rate.
STI continued the rebound from yesterday crossing the 2,950 level but fail to break the 3,000 level. Unless that level is broken with strong volume, the general trend still biases towards the downside. Next week will be interesting given that next Monday is the last day of the month in which funds should be doing month end window dressing but soon after that will be the official release of China PMI in which most expecting a figure to show it is in contraction. Volatile market could return next.
