STI MARKET REVIEW - 28th Sept

Straits Times Index (STI) opened on Monday slightly lower at 2,828.07 points, down 4.57 points or 0.16 per cent and ended 40.72 points or 1.44% lower to 2780.74. STI came off from its intra-day peak of 2829.64 and low of 2780.74.

Singapore stocks sank in first half of Monday session as worries build about global growth and volatility spilling out from China. STI kicked off the week on a distinctly poor note, dropping 40.72 points or 1.4 per cent to 2,791.92, its lowest close since June 2012.

LOCAL BOURSE

Singapore's manufacturing sector continues to be a negative in the economy in third quarter of 2015. The headline inflation forecast for Singapore at between -0.5% and 0% for 2015.

Singapore inflation fell 0.8 per cent in August compared to a 0.4 per cent slide in July.

Market forecast:

STI is expected to consolidate with bearish sentiment as technically market has fallen more than 20 percent which is generally taken to be an indicator of a bear market. STI has broken the crucial support level of 2800. STI has its next support level at 2768. If it breaks this level it might falls upto 2735. Investor sentiments are cautious over the slowdown of china’s economy as data showing China industrial profits has fallen 8.8 per cent.

STI COUNTER SPECIFIC NEWS

• Olam International, a commodity trader controlled by Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings, plans to more than double coffee-plantation acreage in Africa to improve quality control on the continent.
• Sunright has reported a increase in net profit to S$3.1 million for its full year ended July 31, 2015
• CMC Infocomm Ltd won S$4 million worth of contracts from Singapore telcos.

GLOBAL FACTORS AND WORLD INDICES:

• The Straits Times Index on Monday kicked off the week on a distinctly poor note, dropping 40.72 points or 1.4 per cent to 2,791.92, its lowest close since June 2012.
• Malaysian shares closed lower on Tuesday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 6.58 points to 1,608.43. Some 1.64 billion lots, valued at RM1.55 billion were traded. Losers outnumbered gainers 412 to 366.
• Chinese stocks rose, paring the benchmark index's biggest quarterly loss since 2008, as a rally for technology companies overshadowed a report showing industrial companies' profits dropping the most in at least four years. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3 per cent to 3,100.76 at the close, erasing a loss of as much as 1.6 per cent.
• Tokyo shares closed 1.32 per cent lower Monday as the yen strengthened and an ex-dividend issue affecting Topix-listed firms weighed on sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 235.40 points to end at 17,645.11, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares was down 1.04 per cent, or 15.14 points, at 1,438.67.
• Asian stocks sagged on Monday after Wall Street's uninspiring Friday performance and ahead of key economic indicators, while the dollar consolidated its gains against the yen and euro.
• Prices of completed non-landed private homes in Singapore fell 0.6 per cent in August 2015 over July, according to the National University of Singapore (NUS) flash estimate for its Overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) released on Monday.
• Competition authorities in Switzerland announced an investigation into some of the world's biggest banks, including HSBC Holdings Plc, on suspicion that they colluded to manipulate the prices of gold, silver and other precious metals.
• Oil halted its advance near US$45 a barrel as a drop in Chinese industrial companies' profits signaled demand may be weakening in the world's second-biggest consumer.
• Indonesia stock index fell 1 per cent on Monday, extending its losses to a fifth day and reaching its lowest point since Aug 26.The index lost 3.9 per cent between Tuesday and Friday, as the rupiah continued