FTSE STI closed 3,191.04, down 1.75 points or -0.05% with a total volume of 1.96b and a total value of S$1.37b. Total number of advance vs decline was 232 vs 206. Of the 30 component index stocks, 14 closed positive, 3 unchanged and 13 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +0.750
2. GLP +0.150
3. DBS +0.130
4. Noble +0.130
5. Sembcorp +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. JMH USD -2.460
2. JSH USD -0.690
3. UOB -0.310
4. CityDev -0.150
5. SIA -0.140
US markets again closed a drop of at least 0.2% yesterday and Asian bourses were mostly in the red with Nikkei -0.14%, SSE +3.69% and HSI -0.02%. STI also fell but managed to parse loss and closed flat in moderate volume and value with 14 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
The same old story of concern of weak global economy, drop in commodity prices ended US markets another day in the red. Asian markets were also mostly in the red but the rate of decline has slowed. China was exceptional with a gain of more than 3% after Chinese regulator announced new rule of short-selling to prevent volatile market. After series of weak global PMI (or ISM for US) data, focus now will be shifting towards this Friday US non-farm payroll. That data could potentially confuse investors again as the recent weakness in US and global economy definitely was no inflavor of US Fed to hike rate next month but if another strong set of job data announce then US Fed will be very much divided again.
STI ended anther day in the red but the pace of decline has slowed. A sharp rebound should be on the way with bargain hunting and short-covering all piling in before Singapore closes for public holiday this Friday. In general, STI should be starting bottoming process now.
