A week ago, I bought 5 lots of Indoagri at $1.98. Watched it dropped almost to my stop loss of $1.90. Luckily it never reached. It then rebounded (these 2 days) to $2.04 but never managed to break it.
In the past, I will stubbornly hold on. Today, I got rid of the 5 lots at $2.03. The reason ? Someone told me that in terms of technical analysis the graph of Indoagri is showing a "flag" (?). The basic logic is that the share has dropped into its own little channel but keep failing to break $2.04.
I sold off at $2.03 and watched it drop to $1.99.
Mmm.. Technical Analysis :)
======
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 10 February 2010
DJIA: 10058.64 +150.25
Nasdaq Composite: 2150.87 +24.82
Wall Street staged a rally on Tuesday on heightened speculations that the European officials will rescue Greece from its debt problems. The speculations arose from news that European Central Bank president has cut short a working trip to Sydney to attend the Brussels summit on Thursday to discuss how to manage the growing debt crisis. Additionally, there were reports that Germany is considering a plan to work with other EU members to offer loan guarantees to Greece and other troubled Eurozone countries. The upbeat quarterly results of Walt Disney and Coca-Cola further lifted market sentiment.
Speculations on the Greek bailout overshadowed the less upbeat economic reading on wholesale inventories, which fell 0.8% in December, worse-than-expectations of a 0.5% increase, after rising 1.6% in November, signaling that businesses are not ready to restock inventories.
All the major indices rose with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.52% while S&P 500 rose 1.30% to 1,070.52. Nasdaq composite climbed 1.17% higher.
Wednesday brings the corporate results of Sprint Nextel and the weekly crude oil inventories report. On the same day, the US government will also announce the December trade balance and the January Treasury budget.
US light crude oil for March delivery rose US$2.56 to settle at US$73.75 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Uncertainty surrounding the eurozone’s sovereign debt problems dragged down the Asian markets in early trading on Tuesday but a rise in US stock futures and talks of a bailout plan for Greece eased fears, fuelling a market recovery towards closing bell. The local bourse clawed back early trading losses to post a strong finish. The STI gained 51.4 points, or 1.9%, to 2745.02 as local-bargain hunters returned. For every stock that fell, 1.22 rose. Trading activity was thin with turnover of 1.21bil shares with a value of $1.14bil traded.
Commodity shares recovered from losses on Monday as oil prices rose above US$72 a barrel against a backdrop of potential weakness in greenback. Wilmar gained 23 cents to $6.25, Golden Agri added one and a half cents to 51.5cents while Noble Group gained 5 cents to $2.78. SingTel also ended higher, gaining 8 cents to $3.03 after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.
Expect market sentiment to remain subdued in view of uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone debt woes as there remain growing doubts amongst investors on whether the euro will be able to withstand the potential ripple effect from Greece’s budget problems.
=======
Mid Day February 10. Singapore shares lower on profit taking.
Wall Street rebounded helped by good corporate earnings and short covering sparked by hopes for Greece. Throughout the day there was conflicting reports as to how a rescue package could pan out for Greece and other peripheral European countries. Just before the closing bell, rumours emerged that Germany was considering loan guarantees for Greece and the other troubled European countries. Asian markets were mixed with Singapore shares lower on profit taking. The STI index shed 11.3 points at 2733.72 points. For every stock that fell, about 1.2 rose. Turnover was 705mil shares with a value of $589mil traded.
Talks of the EU help for the troubled European nations may raise risk sentiments and buoy stocks in the near term. Besides the short cover inspired bounce, most investors remain wary of the advance and would lean towards staying sidelined. `I don't think most people would want to carry much positions over the Chinese New Year Holidays' a dealer said. Rising for a second day were shares of Olam, Straits Asia, Noble Group and IndoAgric amid talks of short covering. They rose between 2 and 6 cents.
Others like Swiber, Midas, Ezra, Raffles Education, Venture Corp, SIA, F&N, Hyflux, Sim Lian and Singapore Land rose between 1 and 17 cents. On the balance, shares of UOB, DBS, OCBC Bank, Keppel Corp and Hong Kong Land eased between 2 and 42 cents.
==============
Market close Feb 10. Investors still subdued as long weekend looms
Anticipation of the b ailout news of the troubled European countries put traders on their toes in the afternoon. A firmer end to the Chinese indices and an expected firm European opening helped Singapore shares stay positive amid light trading. The STI index shed 10.63 points at 2,734.39 points. Market breadth deteriorated toward the close to end flat at best. Turnover was 1.3bil shares with a value of $1.17bil traded.
Talks of the EU help for the troubled European nations may raise risk sentiments and buoy stocks in the near term. Besides the short cover inspired bounce, most investors remain wary of the advance and would lean towards staying sidelined. `I don't think most people would want to carry much positions over the Chinese New Year Holidays' a dealer said.
Rising for a second day were shares of Olam, Straits Asia, Noble Group and Wilmar amid talks of short covering. They rose between 1 and 8 cents. Others like Swiber, Midas, Ezra, Raffles Education, Venture Corp, SIA, F&N , Hyflux, Sim Lian and Singapore Land rose between 1 and 30 cents.
On the balance, shares of UOB, DBS, OCBC Bank, Keppel Corp and Hong Kong Land eased between 2 and 30 cents.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
09 Feb 10 : Another Triple Digit Dow Jones Last Night
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 09 February 2010
DJIA: 9908.9 -103.84
Nasdaq Composite: 2126.05 -15.07
The US market slipped further, led by Dow, on concerns about the tepid US economic recovery and European debts. Fears that potential debt defaults by Greece might trigger defaults in other European nations including Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain continued to weigh on market sentiment. Talks by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading economies over the weekend, pledging to continue providing liquidity to sustain economic recovery did little to sooth market concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.04% to end below the 10,000 level for the first time in three months while Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%. S&P 500 ended just below breakeven, slipping 0.01 points to close at 1066.18.
On Tuesday, a few major corporations, including Coca-Cola and Walt Disney, are due to report results. The market is also expecting reading on wholesales business inventories for December on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery added US$0.70 to settle at US$71.89 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Debt woes in Greece and potential contagion effect of the rising default risks in other European nations resurfaced to spook markets. The regional markets headed south with Nikkei ending 1.05% lower, Hang Seng falling 0.58% and the Shanghai market giving up 0.14%. The STI bucked the trend, ending 10.06 points higher to 2693.62, led largely by banks. For every stock that rose, 1.71 fell. Trading was listless with turnover of 1.66bil shares with a value of $1.38bil traded as investors stayed on the sideline ahead of the coming Chinese New Year holidays.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 yesterday as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 2 cents lower at $1.09 on 255mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'. New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cents, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 41 cents on 47mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager.
Expect market to consolidate today in light of the lingering debt crisis in Eurozone and weak overnight close in Wall Street. Economic concerns remain at the forefront of investors’ minds and will continue to dampen sentiment. Trading activity is likely to taper off as the Chinese New Year holidays draw closer.
=====
Mid Day February 9. Investors not in the mood to take on risk.
US stocks surrendered early gains and slipped in the last hour of trade with the Dow Jones Industrials closing below the 10,000 mark for the first time since November 2009. Renewed fears about the sovereign debts of Greece, Portugal and Spain came to the fore even as assurance from the European finance ministers emerged. `I think the fear contagion is spreading fast and investors aren't in the mood to take on risk' a dealer said. Stocks in Asia opened low but were mostly higher on short covering trades. Nimble traders were using any advances to trim positions while most other investors remained sidelined. The STI index bounced off its 2675 low to close the mid day at 2703.25 points, for a loss of 9.63 points. For every stock that rose, 2 fell. Turnover was 690mil shares with a value of $601mil traded.
Singtel reported results that was slightly ahead of consensus on the back of a growth in mobile subscribers. The stock rose 6 cents at $3.01. Other stocks that rose were UOB, China Dairy, LongCheer, SGX, WIlmar and CapitaLand that added between 1 and 20 cents.
Tales of margin call and forced selling weighed on the broader market. Opportunistic traders would resort to intra-day shorting as a form of instant gratification, dealers said. Shares of Straits Asia, Noble Group, IndoAgric, Swiber, Ezra, Ezion, Jardine C&C, DBS, SIA, F&N, NOL and Olam were down between 2 and 64 cents.
=======
Market close Feb 9. STI ends on a firm note despite shaky morning start
The US dollar weak ened from mid morning amid rumours that the European finance ministers may have a solution to tackle the fears about the debt defaults of Greece, Portugal and Spain. The firmer US dollars spurred short covering in Asian markets. Taiwan's Taiex jumped 2 percent, its best one day move in 5 months. The STI index gained 51.4 points at 2,745.02 points, a decent move from its 2675 points nadir. Market breadth improved over the day, with about 1.5 gains for every stock that fell. Turnover was 1.36bil shares with a value of $1.33bil traded. Singtel reported results that were slightly ahead of consensus on the back of a growth in mobile subscribers. The stock rose 8 cents at $3.03.
Resource stocks benefitted from the weaker US dollars and probably rose on short covering. Shares of Wilmar, IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and First Resources rose between 2 and 18 cents.
Other stocks that rose were UOB, SIA, UOL, SGX, Hong Kong Land, Keppel Corp, MCL Land and Goodpack that rose between 3 and 54 cents.
On the balance, shares of Jardine C&C, Singapore Land, Venture Corp, F&N, SIA Engineering and NOL fell between 1.5 and 14 cents.
DJIA: 9908.9 -103.84
Nasdaq Composite: 2126.05 -15.07
The US market slipped further, led by Dow, on concerns about the tepid US economic recovery and European debts. Fears that potential debt defaults by Greece might trigger defaults in other European nations including Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain continued to weigh on market sentiment. Talks by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading economies over the weekend, pledging to continue providing liquidity to sustain economic recovery did little to sooth market concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.04% to end below the 10,000 level for the first time in three months while Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%. S&P 500 ended just below breakeven, slipping 0.01 points to close at 1066.18.
On Tuesday, a few major corporations, including Coca-Cola and Walt Disney, are due to report results. The market is also expecting reading on wholesales business inventories for December on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery added US$0.70 to settle at US$71.89 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Debt woes in Greece and potential contagion effect of the rising default risks in other European nations resurfaced to spook markets. The regional markets headed south with Nikkei ending 1.05% lower, Hang Seng falling 0.58% and the Shanghai market giving up 0.14%. The STI bucked the trend, ending 10.06 points higher to 2693.62, led largely by banks. For every stock that rose, 1.71 fell. Trading was listless with turnover of 1.66bil shares with a value of $1.38bil traded as investors stayed on the sideline ahead of the coming Chinese New Year holidays.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 yesterday as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 2 cents lower at $1.09 on 255mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'. New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cents, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 41 cents on 47mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager.
Expect market to consolidate today in light of the lingering debt crisis in Eurozone and weak overnight close in Wall Street. Economic concerns remain at the forefront of investors’ minds and will continue to dampen sentiment. Trading activity is likely to taper off as the Chinese New Year holidays draw closer.
=====
Mid Day February 9. Investors not in the mood to take on risk.
US stocks surrendered early gains and slipped in the last hour of trade with the Dow Jones Industrials closing below the 10,000 mark for the first time since November 2009. Renewed fears about the sovereign debts of Greece, Portugal and Spain came to the fore even as assurance from the European finance ministers emerged. `I think the fear contagion is spreading fast and investors aren't in the mood to take on risk' a dealer said. Stocks in Asia opened low but were mostly higher on short covering trades. Nimble traders were using any advances to trim positions while most other investors remained sidelined. The STI index bounced off its 2675 low to close the mid day at 2703.25 points, for a loss of 9.63 points. For every stock that rose, 2 fell. Turnover was 690mil shares with a value of $601mil traded.
Singtel reported results that was slightly ahead of consensus on the back of a growth in mobile subscribers. The stock rose 6 cents at $3.01. Other stocks that rose were UOB, China Dairy, LongCheer, SGX, WIlmar and CapitaLand that added between 1 and 20 cents.
Tales of margin call and forced selling weighed on the broader market. Opportunistic traders would resort to intra-day shorting as a form of instant gratification, dealers said. Shares of Straits Asia, Noble Group, IndoAgric, Swiber, Ezra, Ezion, Jardine C&C, DBS, SIA, F&N, NOL and Olam were down between 2 and 64 cents.
=======
Market close Feb 9. STI ends on a firm note despite shaky morning start
The US dollar weak ened from mid morning amid rumours that the European finance ministers may have a solution to tackle the fears about the debt defaults of Greece, Portugal and Spain. The firmer US dollars spurred short covering in Asian markets. Taiwan's Taiex jumped 2 percent, its best one day move in 5 months. The STI index gained 51.4 points at 2,745.02 points, a decent move from its 2675 points nadir. Market breadth improved over the day, with about 1.5 gains for every stock that fell. Turnover was 1.36bil shares with a value of $1.33bil traded. Singtel reported results that were slightly ahead of consensus on the back of a growth in mobile subscribers. The stock rose 8 cents at $3.03.
Resource stocks benefitted from the weaker US dollars and probably rose on short covering. Shares of Wilmar, IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and First Resources rose between 2 and 18 cents.
Other stocks that rose were UOB, SIA, UOL, SGX, Hong Kong Land, Keppel Corp, MCL Land and Goodpack that rose between 3 and 54 cents.
On the balance, shares of Jardine C&C, Singapore Land, Venture Corp, F&N, SIA Engineering and NOL fell between 1.5 and 14 cents.
Singapore Stock Announcement Dates
| Date | Singapore Company |
| 9-Feb-10 | China Essence 3Q10 |
| 9-Feb-10 | Singtel * 3Q10 |
| 9-Feb-10 | Vicom FY09 |
| | |
| 10-Feb-10 | ASL Marine 2Q10 |
| 10-Feb-10 | C&O Pharma 2Q10 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Chip Eng Seng FY09 |
| 10-Feb-10 | ComfortDelgro Corp FY09 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Ellipsiz 2Q10 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Great Eastern Holdings FY09 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Karin Technology Holdings 2Q10 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Nera Telecommunications FY09 |
| 10-Feb-10 | SBS Transit FY09 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Second Chance Properties 2Q10 |
| 10-Feb-10 | Soilbuild Group FY09 |
| | |
| 11-Feb-10 | Capitaland FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Challenger Technologies FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Cityspring Infrastructure Trust 3Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Eu Yan Sang Int'l 2Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Global Yelllow Pages * 3Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Hiap Hoe FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | MFS Technology 1Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | NOL FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Olam International 2Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Saizen Reit * FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | SSH Corp 2Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | Surface Mount Technology 3Q10 |
| 11-Feb-10 | UIS FY09 |
| 11-Feb-10 | WBL Corporation 1Q10 |
| | |
| 12-Feb-10 | Ho Bee Investment FY09 |
| 12-Feb-10 | Kian Ann Engineering 2Q10 |
| 12-Feb-10 | KS Energy FY09 |
| 12-Feb-10 | LMA International FY09 |
| | |
| 14-Feb-10 | Metax Engrg 2Q10 |
| | |
| 18-Feb-10 | Map Technology FY09 |
| 18-Feb-10 | ST Engrg FY09 |
| | |
| 19-Feb-10 | Hotel Royal FY09 |
| 19-Feb-10 | OCBC ** FY09 |
| | |
| 22-Feb-10 | ARA Asset Management FY09 |
| 22-Feb-10 | Cosco Corporatino (S) FY09 |
| 22-Feb-10 | SembCorp Marine FY09 |
| 22-Feb-10 | United Overseas Insurance FY09 |
| | |
| 23-Feb-10 | Broadway Industrial Group FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | Del Monte Pacific FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | IFS Capital FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | Noble Group FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | Pan Pacific Hotels Group FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | Straits Trading FY09 |
| 23-Feb-10 | UOL Group Limited FY09 |
| | |
| 24-Feb-10 | Macquarie Int'l Infra Fund * FY09 |
| 24-Feb-10 | QAF FY09 |
| | |
| 25-Feb-10 | Allgreen Properties FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | Best World Int'l FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | City Developments FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | China Aviation Oil (S) FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | China Sunsine Chemical FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | CSE Global FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | Eastern Asia Technology FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | Eng Kong FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | HTL Int'l Holdings FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | Indofood Agri Resources FY09 |
| 25-Feb-10 | SembCorp Industries FY09 |
| | |
| 26-Feb-10 | SMB United FY09 |
| 26-Feb-10 | UOB ** FY09 |
| | |
| 1-Mar-10 | Leeden Limited FY09 |
| 1-Mar-10 | Otto Marine FY09 |
| | |
| 4-Mar-10 | Dairy Farm Int'l Holdings FY09 |
| 4-Mar-10 | Hongkong Land Holdings FY09 |
| 4-Mar-10 | Mandarin Oriental Int'l FY09 |
| | |
| 5-Mar-10 | Jardine Matheson Holdings FY09 |
| 5-Mar-10 | Jardine Strategic Holdings FY09 |
| | |
| 16-Mar-10 | Ryobi Kiso 2Q10 |
| | |
| 17-Mar-10 | China Flexible Packaging 1Q10 |
| | |
| * Results will be released in the morning | |
| ** Results will be released during lunchtime | |
The European Central Bank
The European Central Bank
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The euro is just over a decade old. In its short existence it has been embraced by every level of the international currency markets. Central banks, national treasuries, sovereign funds and multi-national corporations store their wealth and trust its central bank custodians to maintain value. Institutional and retails traders have made it the highest volume currency after the ubiquitous US Dollar.
But the euro and its institutions have never been tested. Until recently the ten year span of the united currency had been one of expanding economies, stable inflation and low unemployment. In comparison to its chief competitor the US dollar it looked fresh, unmarked by political and policy controversy and backed by the unequivocal anti-inflation stance of the European Central Bank (ECB), viewed by many as a new order German Bundesbank. But the European sovereign debt crisis, and it is nothing less, has brought the euro and the ECB down to earth. No central bank policy has ever stood apart from the economic and political realities of its time for very long. And no currency has ever been unscarred by the exigencies of government.
The euro became operational in currency markets on January 4th, 1999 and in retail transactions in 2002. But the dollar has remained the primary trading instrument. In the Bank for International Settlements in Basel Switzerland triennial survey of the world's currency market the percentage of Forex turnover in which the US dollar was one side of the transaction has stayed remarkably stable. In 1989 it was 90%; in 1995 it was 83%; in 2001 it was 91% and in the latest survey of 2007 it was 88%. The dollar is still the central transaction in world's currency market.
For comparison we can look at the value of the euro versus the dollar from 2002 until 2008. Three interlocked factors govern the medium term valuation of a currency, factors that set the trends in the currency markets that we observe day to day: interest rates, economic growth and inflation. Does the interplay of these factors provide adequate explanation for the behavior of the euro and the dollar in this period?
The rise of the euro in these six years is not adequately explained by these traditional measures. From early 2002 to mid 2008 the dollar lost over 60% of its value against the euro. But in that period these comparisons were largely neutral, or favored one side or the other for certain periods of time but without long term bias. Whatever the relationship between these three factors was, the euro rose through entire period.
GDP was generally higher in the United States averaging around 2.5% versus 1.8% in the EMU. Headline CPI was also higher in the US at 2.8% with EMU maybe half that. Even interest rates, the most correlated of all currency factors, do not fully substantiate the euro rise. In 2004 and 2005 the Fed was raising rates ahead of the ECB. The Fed halted in mid 2006 at 5.25%, the ECB did not halt until a year later at 4.00% where it stayed until the financial crisis in 2008. It did commit one heroically ill judged and now forgotten 25 bps hike in the summer of 2008 just before the financial collapse. These rate changes coincide well with the blips in the euro, in 2005 the euro fell from 1.3500 to 1.1800 and certainly a good portion of the run higher in 2008 to above 1.6000 was due to the Fed rate cuts which began in late 2007, fully a year before the ECB saw the light.
But the rise in the euro in this period is at least partially due to one additional factor: the use of a currency as a long term store of value, or as it is better know the reserve currency question. And here the best measure and the best proxy for the world's changing view of the dollar for this largely governmental consideration is the percentage of official reserves held in dollars.
In 1995 59% of the world's official foreign exchange reserves were held in dollars. By 1999, the year of the advent of the euro that had risen to 70.9%. These are IMF figures. The euro had a rocky beginning. It fell to below parity from its introduction at 1.1250 at the beginning of 1999 and stayed there until mid 2002. Not a comfortable start for a potential reserve currency. But potential users were simply waiting out the introduction. In 2000 the percentage of dollar reserves began to fall, to 70.5% that year, 66.5% in 2002, 64.1% in 2007 and 61.6% in the third quarter of 2009. The euro was the major beneficiary of this reserve switch.
Many political factors play into this change in reserve holdings, but there is no reason to discount what the Russians, Chinese and many others have plainly stated. To say this as a concern for the long term continuation of the dollar as the world's reserve currency, is I think, overstated. The dollar is too useful as a measure and medium of exchange, too well entrenched in the worlds' financial system and its debt markets are too deep and without substantial liquid competition. But the movement into the euro expressed both a desire for diversification and an endorsement of ECB policies. Has that euro advantage changed through the financial crisis?
From September 2008 until March 2009 the dominant currency trade was a direct kin to the panic in the financial markets. A huge bubble of dollar assets was created with foreign and domestic money. Compared with the rest of the world the United States was the safest holder of wealth.
The strength of the dollar in this period owed nothing to the traditional standards of economic and currency comparison. This dollar bubble had largely reversed itself by the end of 2009 and the euro was again one of the chief beneficiaries. In nine months it gained 22.5% on the dollar from March to the beginning of December 2009.
In two months the current European sovereign debt crisis has eliminated half of that gain. But unlike the dollar panic ascendancy of last year, which was always destined to end, the European change is structural. The debt amassed by the EMU members will undermine the strict anti-inflation policies of the ECB for many years. The bulwark of the Stability and Growth Pact's debt and deficit limits has been breeched. The odds are very much against it being repaired. Politics has entered world of the ECB and the euro will be the main victim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The euro is just over a decade old. In its short existence it has been embraced by every level of the international currency markets. Central banks, national treasuries, sovereign funds and multi-national corporations store their wealth and trust its central bank custodians to maintain value. Institutional and retails traders have made it the highest volume currency after the ubiquitous US Dollar.
But the euro and its institutions have never been tested. Until recently the ten year span of the united currency had been one of expanding economies, stable inflation and low unemployment. In comparison to its chief competitor the US dollar it looked fresh, unmarked by political and policy controversy and backed by the unequivocal anti-inflation stance of the European Central Bank (ECB), viewed by many as a new order German Bundesbank. But the European sovereign debt crisis, and it is nothing less, has brought the euro and the ECB down to earth. No central bank policy has ever stood apart from the economic and political realities of its time for very long. And no currency has ever been unscarred by the exigencies of government.
The euro became operational in currency markets on January 4th, 1999 and in retail transactions in 2002. But the dollar has remained the primary trading instrument. In the Bank for International Settlements in Basel Switzerland triennial survey of the world's currency market the percentage of Forex turnover in which the US dollar was one side of the transaction has stayed remarkably stable. In 1989 it was 90%; in 1995 it was 83%; in 2001 it was 91% and in the latest survey of 2007 it was 88%. The dollar is still the central transaction in world's currency market.
For comparison we can look at the value of the euro versus the dollar from 2002 until 2008. Three interlocked factors govern the medium term valuation of a currency, factors that set the trends in the currency markets that we observe day to day: interest rates, economic growth and inflation. Does the interplay of these factors provide adequate explanation for the behavior of the euro and the dollar in this period?
The rise of the euro in these six years is not adequately explained by these traditional measures. From early 2002 to mid 2008 the dollar lost over 60% of its value against the euro. But in that period these comparisons were largely neutral, or favored one side or the other for certain periods of time but without long term bias. Whatever the relationship between these three factors was, the euro rose through entire period.
GDP was generally higher in the United States averaging around 2.5% versus 1.8% in the EMU. Headline CPI was also higher in the US at 2.8% with EMU maybe half that. Even interest rates, the most correlated of all currency factors, do not fully substantiate the euro rise. In 2004 and 2005 the Fed was raising rates ahead of the ECB. The Fed halted in mid 2006 at 5.25%, the ECB did not halt until a year later at 4.00% where it stayed until the financial crisis in 2008. It did commit one heroically ill judged and now forgotten 25 bps hike in the summer of 2008 just before the financial collapse. These rate changes coincide well with the blips in the euro, in 2005 the euro fell from 1.3500 to 1.1800 and certainly a good portion of the run higher in 2008 to above 1.6000 was due to the Fed rate cuts which began in late 2007, fully a year before the ECB saw the light.
But the rise in the euro in this period is at least partially due to one additional factor: the use of a currency as a long term store of value, or as it is better know the reserve currency question. And here the best measure and the best proxy for the world's changing view of the dollar for this largely governmental consideration is the percentage of official reserves held in dollars.
In 1995 59% of the world's official foreign exchange reserves were held in dollars. By 1999, the year of the advent of the euro that had risen to 70.9%. These are IMF figures. The euro had a rocky beginning. It fell to below parity from its introduction at 1.1250 at the beginning of 1999 and stayed there until mid 2002. Not a comfortable start for a potential reserve currency. But potential users were simply waiting out the introduction. In 2000 the percentage of dollar reserves began to fall, to 70.5% that year, 66.5% in 2002, 64.1% in 2007 and 61.6% in the third quarter of 2009. The euro was the major beneficiary of this reserve switch.
Many political factors play into this change in reserve holdings, but there is no reason to discount what the Russians, Chinese and many others have plainly stated. To say this as a concern for the long term continuation of the dollar as the world's reserve currency, is I think, overstated. The dollar is too useful as a measure and medium of exchange, too well entrenched in the worlds' financial system and its debt markets are too deep and without substantial liquid competition. But the movement into the euro expressed both a desire for diversification and an endorsement of ECB policies. Has that euro advantage changed through the financial crisis?
From September 2008 until March 2009 the dominant currency trade was a direct kin to the panic in the financial markets. A huge bubble of dollar assets was created with foreign and domestic money. Compared with the rest of the world the United States was the safest holder of wealth.
The strength of the dollar in this period owed nothing to the traditional standards of economic and currency comparison. This dollar bubble had largely reversed itself by the end of 2009 and the euro was again one of the chief beneficiaries. In nine months it gained 22.5% on the dollar from March to the beginning of December 2009.
In two months the current European sovereign debt crisis has eliminated half of that gain. But unlike the dollar panic ascendancy of last year, which was always destined to end, the European change is structural. The debt amassed by the EMU members will undermine the strict anti-inflation policies of the ECB for many years. The bulwark of the Stability and Growth Pact's debt and deficit limits has been breeched. The odds are very much against it being repaired. Politics has entered world of the ECB and the euro will be the main victim.
When the correction really came...
Love this statement in the Asia Wall Street Journal today. Totally true. Sigh.
Keith W. Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services, noted that market watchers had been saying for months that a pullback has been necessary, but now that the rally in stocks has come to a pause for several weeks, it has been met with increased fear and concern.
Keith W. Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services, noted that market watchers had been saying for months that a pullback has been necessary, but now that the rally in stocks has come to a pause for several weeks, it has been met with increased fear and concern.
"Every time you have a market run-up everybody goes, 'We need a 10% correction,' and as soon as the market drops 5%, you have everybody crying," Mr. Springer said.
Monday, February 8, 2010
08 Feb 10 : Mixed Market
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 08 February 2010
DJIA: 10012.23 +10.05
Nasdaq Composite: 2141.12 +15.69
The US market managed to claw out gains on Friday, led largely by the technology sector and as greenback trimmed gains, following earlier sharp losses as investors were concerned that the growing debt crisis in Europe would derail the US economic recovery. On the economic front, the US jobs reports were mixed with employers cutting 20,000 jobs from their payroll in December, worse-than-expectations of an increase of 15,000 jobs. On a more positive note, unemployment rate fell to 9.7%, ahead of expectations of a steady hold at 10%. There were also some positive leading signs on the jobs situation with increases in both the work week and temporary agency employment.
For the week, all the major indices ended lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.55% and S&P 500 fell 0.72% to end at 1066.19. Nasdaq composite lost 029%.
Expect worries over the rising debt issues in Europe to continue to affect market sentiment however, the market will also take cues from earnings and economic reports. The week ahead brings the quarterly results from consumer companies including Coca-Cola and Walt Disney on Tuesday and Sprint Nextel on Wednesday. Economic reports on retail sales, inventories, employment and consumer sentiment can also be expected but there are no market-moving economic reports scheduled on Monday.
For the week, US light crude oil for March delivery fell US$1.70, or 2.33%, to settle at US$71.19 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Most Asian markets slumped on Friday following Wall Street tumble with its key indices falling between 2.5% and 3.1% last Thursday on worries about the US job market and growing concerns about European debt. The STI did not escape the bloodshed falling 61.42 points or 2.24% to close at 2683.56. For the week, the STI was 61.79 points, or 2.2%, lower.
Expect market today to take cues from the positive close on Wall Street last Friday. For the week ahead, we expect the lingering debt concerns in the Eurozone and its impact on global economic recovery to prevail. Also, market will take cues from the corporate performances of blue chips reporting results this week including SingTel, ComfortDelgro, CapitaLand and Neptune Orient Lines.
----
Mid Day February 8. Investors largely sidelined ahead of Chinese New Year.
Whether this is a correction of the huge move from the March 2009 lows or the start of a new bear trend, no one knows. For sure, speculators are now licking their wounds given that some second liners have fallen over 40 per cent in the last fortnight. Stock commentators are quick to narrate the downtrend, with a `sell the bounce bias' which would effectively mean would be investors remain burrowed in the ground. The STI index bounced 8.94 points at 2692.50 points. Market breadth was flat (some downward bias) at best with investors largely sidelined ahead of the coming Chinese New Year Holidays. Turnover was 803mil shares with a value of $594mil traded.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 1 cent up at $1.12 no 129mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'.
New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cents, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 42 cents on 33mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager. Heading lower today were shares of Great Eastern, Hyflux, Jardine C&C, Noble Group, SPB, Bukit Sembawang, Jardine Strategic, SATs Services and UIC that shed between 1.5 and 26 cents. On the balance, shares of DBS, UOB, OCBC Bank, Venture Corp, ST Engineering and Keppel Corp rose between 3 and 16 cents.
======
Market close Feb 8. Range trading in the absence of a clearer market outlook
Stocks in Sing apore traded within a limited range today between positive and negative territory, as investors were undecided on the outlook going forward and chose to take profit instead or cut losses, whatever the position may be. The positive trading of the US index futures in the afternoon helped the STI index to close 10.06 points higher at 2693.62 points. Market breadth was flat (some downward bias) at best with investors largely sidelined ahead of the coming Chinese New Year Holidays ˆ the Singapore market will be closed next Monday and Tuesday. Turnover was 1.66bil shares with a value of $1.38bil traded.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 2 cents lower at $1.09 on 255mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'.
New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cen t s, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 41 cents on 47mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager.
Heading lower today were shares of Jardine C&C, Great Eastern, JSH, STX Panocean, Cerebos, Sp Land and Wilmar, that shed between 9 and 64 cents.
On the balance, shares of DBS, UOB, SIA, Venture and APB, rose between 8 and 26 cents.
DJIA: 10012.23 +10.05
Nasdaq Composite: 2141.12 +15.69
The US market managed to claw out gains on Friday, led largely by the technology sector and as greenback trimmed gains, following earlier sharp losses as investors were concerned that the growing debt crisis in Europe would derail the US economic recovery. On the economic front, the US jobs reports were mixed with employers cutting 20,000 jobs from their payroll in December, worse-than-expectations of an increase of 15,000 jobs. On a more positive note, unemployment rate fell to 9.7%, ahead of expectations of a steady hold at 10%. There were also some positive leading signs on the jobs situation with increases in both the work week and temporary agency employment.
For the week, all the major indices ended lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.55% and S&P 500 fell 0.72% to end at 1066.19. Nasdaq composite lost 029%.
Expect worries over the rising debt issues in Europe to continue to affect market sentiment however, the market will also take cues from earnings and economic reports. The week ahead brings the quarterly results from consumer companies including Coca-Cola and Walt Disney on Tuesday and Sprint Nextel on Wednesday. Economic reports on retail sales, inventories, employment and consumer sentiment can also be expected but there are no market-moving economic reports scheduled on Monday.
For the week, US light crude oil for March delivery fell US$1.70, or 2.33%, to settle at US$71.19 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Most Asian markets slumped on Friday following Wall Street tumble with its key indices falling between 2.5% and 3.1% last Thursday on worries about the US job market and growing concerns about European debt. The STI did not escape the bloodshed falling 61.42 points or 2.24% to close at 2683.56. For the week, the STI was 61.79 points, or 2.2%, lower.
Expect market today to take cues from the positive close on Wall Street last Friday. For the week ahead, we expect the lingering debt concerns in the Eurozone and its impact on global economic recovery to prevail. Also, market will take cues from the corporate performances of blue chips reporting results this week including SingTel, ComfortDelgro, CapitaLand and Neptune Orient Lines.
----
Mid Day February 8. Investors largely sidelined ahead of Chinese New Year.
Whether this is a correction of the huge move from the March 2009 lows or the start of a new bear trend, no one knows. For sure, speculators are now licking their wounds given that some second liners have fallen over 40 per cent in the last fortnight. Stock commentators are quick to narrate the downtrend, with a `sell the bounce bias' which would effectively mean would be investors remain burrowed in the ground. The STI index bounced 8.94 points at 2692.50 points. Market breadth was flat (some downward bias) at best with investors largely sidelined ahead of the coming Chinese New Year Holidays. Turnover was 803mil shares with a value of $594mil traded.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 1 cent up at $1.12 no 129mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'.
New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cents, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 42 cents on 33mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager. Heading lower today were shares of Great Eastern, Hyflux, Jardine C&C, Noble Group, SPB, Bukit Sembawang, Jardine Strategic, SATs Services and UIC that shed between 1.5 and 26 cents. On the balance, shares of DBS, UOB, OCBC Bank, Venture Corp, ST Engineering and Keppel Corp rose between 3 and 16 cents.
======
Market close Feb 8. Range trading in the absence of a clearer market outlook
Stocks in Sing apore traded within a limited range today between positive and negative territory, as investors were undecided on the outlook going forward and chose to take profit instead or cut losses, whatever the position may be. The positive trading of the US index futures in the afternoon helped the STI index to close 10.06 points higher at 2693.62 points. Market breadth was flat (some downward bias) at best with investors largely sidelined ahead of the coming Chinese New Year Holidays ˆ the Singapore market will be closed next Monday and Tuesday. Turnover was 1.66bil shares with a value of $1.38bil traded.
Genting Singapore shares started trade at 1030 as the company used the delay in opening trade to announce that it had been awarded the casino license. The stock opened at $1.16 before retreating to end 2 cents lower at $1.09 on 255mil shares. Dealers attributed this to `buy rumour, sell news'.
New listing China Hu An Cable disappointed as it made its debut at 40.5 cen t s, below its 42 cents offering. It ended at 41 cents on 47mil shares, probably due to the actions of the stabilization manager.
Heading lower today were shares of Jardine C&C, Great Eastern, JSH, STX Panocean, Cerebos, Sp Land and Wilmar, that shed between 9 and 64 cents.
On the balance, shares of DBS, UOB, SIA, Venture and APB, rose between 8 and 26 cents.
Friday, February 5, 2010
05 Feb 10 : BIG BIG Drop in Market
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 05 February 2010
DJIA: 10002.18 -268.37
Nasdaq Composite: 2125.43 -65.48
Concerns about the impact of growing debt crisis in Europe (particularly Greece, Spain and Portugal) on the global economy spooked the US market, dragging down the US market. Debt woes also propelled the dollar higher which caused dollar-traded commodities to slip. Weak jobs reports further pressured the market. New claims for unemployment rose to 480,000 last week, worse-than-expectations of 455,000 claims, from a revised 472,000 claims the previous week while continuing claims rose to 4,602,000, again weaker-than-expectations of 4,581,000, from 4,600,000 the previous week.
Toyota reported improved quarterly earnings and also lifted estimates for the quarter ending March. However, the results did not account for the cost of global recall on vehicles due to gas pedal problems of up to US$2 bil.
All the major indices plunged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 2.61% and S&P 500 fell 3.11% to close at 1,063.11. Nasdaq composite lost 2.99%.
Friday brings the highly anticipated January jobs report. Market expectations are that employers have added 13,000 jobs to the payrolls in January after cutting 85,000 in December and unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 10%.
US light crude oil for March delivery fell US$3.84 to settle at US$73.14 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Fresh concerns over the failure of heavily indebted European nations to service debts having a contagious impact on the global financial system derailed the nascent rally across Asian markets on Thursday. Further, investors were cautious ahead of the January US jobs data due after the Asian markets close. The STI index lost 19.86 points, or 0.72% to 2,744.98. For every stock that gained, 2.21 fell. Turnover was low with 1.27bil shares with a value of $1.11bil traded.
Among the heavy decliners were banking shares with DBS down 30 cents to $14.20, UOB lost 14 cents to $18.40 and OCBC down 10 cents to $8.25. Gainers included Jardine C&C, up 42 cents to $25.72, Goodpack and CWT.
Expect the local bourse to retreat today taking cues from the sharp overnight Wall Street tumble as investor worry about the indebted problems in the Eurozone. All eyes will be on the closely watched US jobs report due tonight.
====
Mid Day February 5. Asian markets sharply lower as investors rushed for exits.
Wall Street tanked with its key indices falling between 2.5 and 3.1 per cent on worries about the US job market and growing fears about European debt. The brutal sell off ahead of the key US employment data later today left a lot of anxiety among Asian traders as markets here opened sharply lower. It was fear and panic as traders rushed for the exits. The STI index tumbled 53.65 points at 2691.33 amid forecasts that it may settle between 2500 and 2600 points. For every stock that rose, 11 fell. Turnover was 1.1 bil shares with a value of $882mil traded.
Supports broken and confidence shaken, weary investors dumped stocks from the open bell after a horrid brutal sell-off on Wall Street. `No point trying to guess where the bottom is' a remisier said. the US dollar rallied amid a rush to a safe haven currency and commodities tumbled.
Resources stocks here took a beating as shares of Straits Asia, Indoagric, Wilmar, Noble, Golden Agric and Olam fell between 2 and 14 cents. Jardine C&C fell 80 cents at $24.96 and was tracked by Jardine Matheson, SIA, UOB, Jardine Strategic, SGX, DBS, Keppel Land and Keppel Corp that shed between 9 and 80 cents.
On the balance, shares of Great Eastern, SATs Services, Vicom, Teledata and GP Bat rose between half and 36 cents.
=====
Market close Feb 5. STI closes the week below the 2,700 level
The negative trading of the U S index futures kept Asian markets down in the afternoon session after the markets opened sharply lower in the morning. It was fear and panic as traders rushed for the exits. The STI index closed 61.42 points lower at 2,683.56 amid some comments that the support level may be found closer to 2500 and 2600 points, which means further downside from here. For every stock that rose, nearly 6 fell. Turnover was 2.16 bil shares with a value of $2bil traded.
Supports broken and confidence shaken, weary investors dumped stocks from the open bell after a horrid brutal sell-off on Wall Street. „No point trying to guess where the bottom is‰, a remisier said.
Resources stocks here took a beating as shares of Straits Asia, Indoagric, Wilmar, Noble, Golden Agric and Olam fell between 2 and 14 cents.
Jardine C&C fell 46 cents at $25.26 and was tracked by Jardine Matheson, SIA, UOB, Jardine Strategic, SGX, DBS, Keppel Land and Keppel Corp that shed between 9 and 82 cent s .
On the balance, shares of Great Eastern, SATs Services, Vicom, Teledata and GP Bat rose between half and 36 cents.
DJIA: 10002.18 -268.37
Nasdaq Composite: 2125.43 -65.48
Concerns about the impact of growing debt crisis in Europe (particularly Greece, Spain and Portugal) on the global economy spooked the US market, dragging down the US market. Debt woes also propelled the dollar higher which caused dollar-traded commodities to slip. Weak jobs reports further pressured the market. New claims for unemployment rose to 480,000 last week, worse-than-expectations of 455,000 claims, from a revised 472,000 claims the previous week while continuing claims rose to 4,602,000, again weaker-than-expectations of 4,581,000, from 4,600,000 the previous week.
Toyota reported improved quarterly earnings and also lifted estimates for the quarter ending March. However, the results did not account for the cost of global recall on vehicles due to gas pedal problems of up to US$2 bil.
All the major indices plunged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 2.61% and S&P 500 fell 3.11% to close at 1,063.11. Nasdaq composite lost 2.99%.
Friday brings the highly anticipated January jobs report. Market expectations are that employers have added 13,000 jobs to the payrolls in January after cutting 85,000 in December and unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 10%.
US light crude oil for March delivery fell US$3.84 to settle at US$73.14 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Fresh concerns over the failure of heavily indebted European nations to service debts having a contagious impact on the global financial system derailed the nascent rally across Asian markets on Thursday. Further, investors were cautious ahead of the January US jobs data due after the Asian markets close. The STI index lost 19.86 points, or 0.72% to 2,744.98. For every stock that gained, 2.21 fell. Turnover was low with 1.27bil shares with a value of $1.11bil traded.
Among the heavy decliners were banking shares with DBS down 30 cents to $14.20, UOB lost 14 cents to $18.40 and OCBC down 10 cents to $8.25. Gainers included Jardine C&C, up 42 cents to $25.72, Goodpack and CWT.
Expect the local bourse to retreat today taking cues from the sharp overnight Wall Street tumble as investor worry about the indebted problems in the Eurozone. All eyes will be on the closely watched US jobs report due tonight.
====
Mid Day February 5. Asian markets sharply lower as investors rushed for exits.
Wall Street tanked with its key indices falling between 2.5 and 3.1 per cent on worries about the US job market and growing fears about European debt. The brutal sell off ahead of the key US employment data later today left a lot of anxiety among Asian traders as markets here opened sharply lower. It was fear and panic as traders rushed for the exits. The STI index tumbled 53.65 points at 2691.33 amid forecasts that it may settle between 2500 and 2600 points. For every stock that rose, 11 fell. Turnover was 1.1 bil shares with a value of $882mil traded.
Supports broken and confidence shaken, weary investors dumped stocks from the open bell after a horrid brutal sell-off on Wall Street. `No point trying to guess where the bottom is' a remisier said. the US dollar rallied amid a rush to a safe haven currency and commodities tumbled.
Resources stocks here took a beating as shares of Straits Asia, Indoagric, Wilmar, Noble, Golden Agric and Olam fell between 2 and 14 cents. Jardine C&C fell 80 cents at $24.96 and was tracked by Jardine Matheson, SIA, UOB, Jardine Strategic, SGX, DBS, Keppel Land and Keppel Corp that shed between 9 and 80 cents.
On the balance, shares of Great Eastern, SATs Services, Vicom, Teledata and GP Bat rose between half and 36 cents.
=====
Market close Feb 5. STI closes the week below the 2,700 level
The negative trading of the U S index futures kept Asian markets down in the afternoon session after the markets opened sharply lower in the morning. It was fear and panic as traders rushed for the exits. The STI index closed 61.42 points lower at 2,683.56 amid some comments that the support level may be found closer to 2500 and 2600 points, which means further downside from here. For every stock that rose, nearly 6 fell. Turnover was 2.16 bil shares with a value of $2bil traded.
Supports broken and confidence shaken, weary investors dumped stocks from the open bell after a horrid brutal sell-off on Wall Street. „No point trying to guess where the bottom is‰, a remisier said.
Resources stocks here took a beating as shares of Straits Asia, Indoagric, Wilmar, Noble, Golden Agric and Olam fell between 2 and 14 cents.
Jardine C&C fell 46 cents at $25.26 and was tracked by Jardine Matheson, SIA, UOB, Jardine Strategic, SGX, DBS, Keppel Land and Keppel Corp that shed between 9 and 82 cent s .
On the balance, shares of Great Eastern, SATs Services, Vicom, Teledata and GP Bat rose between half and 36 cents.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
04 Feb 10 : Now what
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 04 February 2010
DJIA: 10270.55 -26.30
Nasdaq Composite: 2190.91 +0.85
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Following two strong sessions of rally, the US market slipped on Wednesday as a result of a weak reading on the services sector of the economy and a mixed reading on the labour market. The ISM services sector index rose weaker-than-expected to 50.5 in January, against expectations of a rise to 51, from 49.8 in the previous month. On the labour market, employers in the private sector cut fewer jobs of 22,000 jobs in January, better-than-expectations of a loss of 30,000 jobs, following a revised loss of 61,000 jobs in December but a separate reading showed that layoffs in January rose to a five-month high of 71,482 from 45,094 in December. Weaker-than-expected earnings from Pfizer as well as the strengthening of the greenback further dragged down the market.
On a more positive note, Cisco System and News Corp both reported quarterly revenue and earnings growth which surpassed expectations and the former also issued an upbeat revenue guidance that exceeded expectations. Also, Time Warner reported sales and earnings growth, the first quarterly report without AOL in a decade while AOL swung to profitability with $1.4 bil earnings from a loss of $1.9bil a year ago.
The major indices ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.26% and S&P 500 slipped 0.55% to close at 1,097.28. Nasdaq composite ended flat, edging up a mere 0.04%.
The market is looking for more signals that the economic recovery is taking hold. On Thursday, economic releases due include January sales from the nation’s retailers, weekly jobless claims and reading on factory orders. The corporate result of Toyota is also due on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery slipped US$0.25 to settle at US$76.98 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
A two-day rally on Wall Street, following upbeat corporate earnings, lured in some bargain-hunters in the Asian markets, which played catch up in a weary fashion for fear of Wall Street being put to the test on Wednesday. Nikkei rose 0.3% despite Toyota’s recall issues while Hang Seng Index surged 2.22%. The STI was pushed up by buying of big caps, including banks as well as energy and resource plays, resulting in a gain of 43.97 points to close at 2764.84. For every stock that fell, 2.92 gained. Turnover was 1.7bil shares with a value of $1.5bil traded.
Ezra scored with investors yesterday after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 21 cents higher to $2.28. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks. Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric rose between 1 and 7 cents. New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut yesterday at 33.5 cents and ended at 36 cents for a gain of 10 cents above its 26 cents offering.
Expect the local bourse to consolidate today, taking cues from the weak overnight close on Wall Street. Market is expected to exercise caution ahead of the closely watched US jobs report on Friday. News of two of China’s largest banks had to aggressively cut back on loans to satisfy the government’s directive to slow down lending is likely to further dampen sentiment.
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Market close Feb 4. Investors quick to take profit after recent gains
Investors were quic k to take profit especially since the US index futures started trading in the negative, leading to expectations of another volatile session on Wall Street later today. The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.7 per cent or 19.86 points to close at 2,744.98, on a turnover of 1.27 bn shares worth $1.11 bn. Losers outpaced gainers more than 2 to 1.
Among the gainers were Jardine C&C, up 42 cents to $25.72, Goodack and CWT.
Losers included property counters City Developments and CapitaLand. CapitaLand fell 11 cents at $3.76 on 28.9m shares done while City Developments shed 16 cents to $10.64.
Commodity stocks were also losers as crude oil futures fell. These included Wilmar, down 10 cents to $6.45 and Olam dropped 4 cents to $2.37.
DJIA: 10270.55 -26.30
Nasdaq Composite: 2190.91 +0.85
Ad: Good Stock Trading System !! Click Here !!
Following two strong sessions of rally, the US market slipped on Wednesday as a result of a weak reading on the services sector of the economy and a mixed reading on the labour market. The ISM services sector index rose weaker-than-expected to 50.5 in January, against expectations of a rise to 51, from 49.8 in the previous month. On the labour market, employers in the private sector cut fewer jobs of 22,000 jobs in January, better-than-expectations of a loss of 30,000 jobs, following a revised loss of 61,000 jobs in December but a separate reading showed that layoffs in January rose to a five-month high of 71,482 from 45,094 in December. Weaker-than-expected earnings from Pfizer as well as the strengthening of the greenback further dragged down the market.
On a more positive note, Cisco System and News Corp both reported quarterly revenue and earnings growth which surpassed expectations and the former also issued an upbeat revenue guidance that exceeded expectations. Also, Time Warner reported sales and earnings growth, the first quarterly report without AOL in a decade while AOL swung to profitability with $1.4 bil earnings from a loss of $1.9bil a year ago.
The major indices ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.26% and S&P 500 slipped 0.55% to close at 1,097.28. Nasdaq composite ended flat, edging up a mere 0.04%.
The market is looking for more signals that the economic recovery is taking hold. On Thursday, economic releases due include January sales from the nation’s retailers, weekly jobless claims and reading on factory orders. The corporate result of Toyota is also due on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery slipped US$0.25 to settle at US$76.98 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
A two-day rally on Wall Street, following upbeat corporate earnings, lured in some bargain-hunters in the Asian markets, which played catch up in a weary fashion for fear of Wall Street being put to the test on Wednesday. Nikkei rose 0.3% despite Toyota’s recall issues while Hang Seng Index surged 2.22%. The STI was pushed up by buying of big caps, including banks as well as energy and resource plays, resulting in a gain of 43.97 points to close at 2764.84. For every stock that fell, 2.92 gained. Turnover was 1.7bil shares with a value of $1.5bil traded.
Ezra scored with investors yesterday after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 21 cents higher to $2.28. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks. Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric rose between 1 and 7 cents. New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut yesterday at 33.5 cents and ended at 36 cents for a gain of 10 cents above its 26 cents offering.
Expect the local bourse to consolidate today, taking cues from the weak overnight close on Wall Street. Market is expected to exercise caution ahead of the closely watched US jobs report on Friday. News of two of China’s largest banks had to aggressively cut back on loans to satisfy the government’s directive to slow down lending is likely to further dampen sentiment.
=======
Market close Feb 4. Investors quick to take profit after recent gains
Investors were quic k to take profit especially since the US index futures started trading in the negative, leading to expectations of another volatile session on Wall Street later today. The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.7 per cent or 19.86 points to close at 2,744.98, on a turnover of 1.27 bn shares worth $1.11 bn. Losers outpaced gainers more than 2 to 1.
Among the gainers were Jardine C&C, up 42 cents to $25.72, Goodack and CWT.
Losers included property counters City Developments and CapitaLand. CapitaLand fell 11 cents at $3.76 on 28.9m shares done while City Developments shed 16 cents to $10.64.
Commodity stocks were also losers as crude oil futures fell. These included Wilmar, down 10 cents to $6.45 and Olam dropped 4 cents to $2.37.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
03 Feb 10 : Market Up but how long can it last
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 03 February 2010
DJIA: 10296.85 +111.32
Nasdaq Composite: 2190.06 +18.86
Wall Street staged another rally with the Dow posting a second straight triple-digit gain as investors welcomed better-than-expected corporate results of UPS and Emerson Electric, both of which reported YoY weaker revenue and earnings that surpassed expectations while homebuilder D.R Horton benefitted from big tax gains and reported quarterly earnings, which again surged past expectations of losses. Sign of stability in the housing sector also lifted the market, with pending home sales index rising 1%, in line with expectations, from a drop of 16.4% in the previous month. Auto sales figures were also strong with Ford Motor, General Motors and Nissan all reporting improved January sales.
All the major indices ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.09% and S&P 500 rose 1.30% to close at 1,103.32. Nasdaq composite surged 0.87%.
On Wednesday, the market will likely take cues from the two employment sector reports and ISM January reading on the services sector that are due out in the morning as well as the government’s latest report on crude inventories. The corporate results of Time Warner, Pfizer and Cisco System are also due on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery added US$2.80 to settle at US$77.23 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Overnight gains on Wall Street ensuing from strong US manufacturing data and a bout of exuberant bargain hunting of local blue chips helped the STI jump a hefty 31 points in early trading. However, buying momentum stalled in the afternoon as nervousness set in again on the back of economic concerns and negative trading of US futures. Dealers reported that jittery clients were using any bounce opportunities in the market to lighten up and the upside remains capped in the short term. At the closing bell, the STI was down 15.3 points at 2720.87. For every stock that rose, 1.68 fell. Turnover was low with 1.6bil shares with a value of $1.32bil traded.
Chine Environment shares tumbled 26.8 per cent or 11 cents at 30 cents on rumours that the company was facing some accounting irregularities issues. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China Animal Healthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent. Maintaining their upside were shares of Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, and Keppel Land which rose between 8 and 24 cents.
Expect the local bourse to take cues from overnight gains on Wall Street. However, we will not be surprised if the market reverses its course in late-day trading as investors may again take upside opportunities to unwind their portfolio positions.
============
Mid Day February 3. Asian markets played catch up.
Wall Street rose for the second day helped by good corporate earnings, registering its best 2 day gain in four months. Asian markets played catch up in a weary fashion for the fear of Wall Street being put to the test on Wednesday (after a 2 day gain) made most conservative. `It's easy to say buy low and sell high cause when it's really low, no one buys' a dealer mused. The STI index rose 26.49 points at 2747.36 points. For every stock that fell, almost 3 rose. Turnover was 812mil shares with a value of $701mil traded.
Ezra scored with investors today after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 14 cents higher to $2.14. Associate Ezion rose 2 cents at 71 cents while others like Marco Polo, Swiber, Otto Marine, Cosco Corp, Ausgroup and Swissco rose between 1 and 5 cents. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks. Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric that rose between 1 and 7 cents. New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut today at 33.5 cents and ended at 34 cents for a gain of 8 cents above its 26 cents offering.
On the balance, shares of Jardine C&C, Hyflux, Trump Dragon, Wilmar and Hong Kong Land eased between 1 and 24 cents.
======
Market close Feb 3. STI up 43,9 points
Asian markets were more confident today after Wa ll Street‚s second day of gains. The STI index rose 43.97 points at 2764.84 points. For every stock that fell, almost 3 rose. Turnover was 1.7bil shares with a value of $1.5bil traded.
New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut today at 33.5 cents and ended at 36 cents for a gain of 10 cents above its 26 cents offering. The stock alone saw 152.7m shares changing hands.
Ezra scored with investors today after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 21 cents higher to $2.28 on 25.5m shares changing hands. Associate Ezion rose 3 cents at 72 cents.
Marco Polo, Swiber, Otto Marine, Cosco Corp, Ausgroup and Swissco rose between 1 and 5 cents. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks.
Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric that rose between 1 and 7 cents.
On the balance, shares o f Hyflux, UIS and Sim Lian eased between 4 and 7 cents.
DJIA: 10296.85 +111.32
Nasdaq Composite: 2190.06 +18.86
Wall Street staged another rally with the Dow posting a second straight triple-digit gain as investors welcomed better-than-expected corporate results of UPS and Emerson Electric, both of which reported YoY weaker revenue and earnings that surpassed expectations while homebuilder D.R Horton benefitted from big tax gains and reported quarterly earnings, which again surged past expectations of losses. Sign of stability in the housing sector also lifted the market, with pending home sales index rising 1%, in line with expectations, from a drop of 16.4% in the previous month. Auto sales figures were also strong with Ford Motor, General Motors and Nissan all reporting improved January sales.
All the major indices ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.09% and S&P 500 rose 1.30% to close at 1,103.32. Nasdaq composite surged 0.87%.
On Wednesday, the market will likely take cues from the two employment sector reports and ISM January reading on the services sector that are due out in the morning as well as the government’s latest report on crude inventories. The corporate results of Time Warner, Pfizer and Cisco System are also due on the same day.
US light crude oil for March delivery added US$2.80 to settle at US$77.23 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Overnight gains on Wall Street ensuing from strong US manufacturing data and a bout of exuberant bargain hunting of local blue chips helped the STI jump a hefty 31 points in early trading. However, buying momentum stalled in the afternoon as nervousness set in again on the back of economic concerns and negative trading of US futures. Dealers reported that jittery clients were using any bounce opportunities in the market to lighten up and the upside remains capped in the short term. At the closing bell, the STI was down 15.3 points at 2720.87. For every stock that rose, 1.68 fell. Turnover was low with 1.6bil shares with a value of $1.32bil traded.
Chine Environment shares tumbled 26.8 per cent or 11 cents at 30 cents on rumours that the company was facing some accounting irregularities issues. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China Animal Healthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent. Maintaining their upside were shares of Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, and Keppel Land which rose between 8 and 24 cents.
Expect the local bourse to take cues from overnight gains on Wall Street. However, we will not be surprised if the market reverses its course in late-day trading as investors may again take upside opportunities to unwind their portfolio positions.
============
Mid Day February 3. Asian markets played catch up.
Wall Street rose for the second day helped by good corporate earnings, registering its best 2 day gain in four months. Asian markets played catch up in a weary fashion for the fear of Wall Street being put to the test on Wednesday (after a 2 day gain) made most conservative. `It's easy to say buy low and sell high cause when it's really low, no one buys' a dealer mused. The STI index rose 26.49 points at 2747.36 points. For every stock that fell, almost 3 rose. Turnover was 812mil shares with a value of $701mil traded.
Ezra scored with investors today after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 14 cents higher to $2.14. Associate Ezion rose 2 cents at 71 cents while others like Marco Polo, Swiber, Otto Marine, Cosco Corp, Ausgroup and Swissco rose between 1 and 5 cents. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks. Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric that rose between 1 and 7 cents. New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut today at 33.5 cents and ended at 34 cents for a gain of 8 cents above its 26 cents offering.
On the balance, shares of Jardine C&C, Hyflux, Trump Dragon, Wilmar and Hong Kong Land eased between 1 and 24 cents.
======
Market close Feb 3. STI up 43,9 points
Asian markets were more confident today after Wa ll Street‚s second day of gains. The STI index rose 43.97 points at 2764.84 points. For every stock that fell, almost 3 rose. Turnover was 1.7bil shares with a value of $1.5bil traded.
New listing Sin Heng Machinery made a good debut today at 33.5 cents and ended at 36 cents for a gain of 10 cents above its 26 cents offering. The stock alone saw 152.7m shares changing hands.
Ezra scored with investors today after a broker upgraded the stock to a buy with a target of $2.54. The burst of buying momentum triggered some short covering and nudge the stock 21 cents higher to $2.28 on 25.5m shares changing hands. Associate Ezion rose 3 cents at 72 cents.
Marco Polo, Swiber, Otto Marine, Cosco Corp, Ausgroup and Swissco rose between 1 and 5 cents. The US dollar's pullback was a boost for commodities and resources stocks.
Shares of IndoAgric, Straits Asia, Noble Group, Olam and Golden Agric that rose between 1 and 7 cents.
On the balance, shares o f Hyflux, UIS and Sim Lian eased between 4 and 7 cents.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
02 Feb 10 : Market Started Well But Ended Sour
Pre-Market Open Commentary for 02 February 2010
DJIA: 10185.53 +118.20
Nasdaq Composite: 2171.20 +23.85
Wall Street started the first trading day of February with strong gains following better-than-expected reports on personal income, manufacturing and profits from Exxon Mobil. Personal income rose 0.4% in December, ahead of expectations of a 0.3% rise, from an increase of 0.5% in the previous month. The ISM manufacturing index also topped expectations, rising to 58.4 in January, against expectations of a rise to 55.5, from 54.9 in December as factories stepped up production in response to boost in orders ensuing from stimulus-fuelled gain in demand and record cutbacks in inventory. Exxon Mobil’s YoY 18% decline in profit to US$1.27 per share, which topped expectations, further lifted the advance.
President Obama also unveiled a US$3.8 trillion budget for 2011 which continued to focus on battling the double-digit unemployment rate in the US before tightening the fiscal belt the following year. To boost jobs, the President is setting aside US$100 bil in tax credits in 2010 aimed at small businesses as well as investments in clean energy and infrastructure.
All the major indices ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.17% and S&P 500 rose 1.43% to close at 1,089.18. Nasdaq composite surged 1.11%.
On Tuesday, market will take leads from economic reading on pending home sales index while the US automakers will be releasing their January sales figures throughout the day.
US light crude oil for February delivery added US$1.54 to settle at US$74.53 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Wall Street’s weak close last Friday and ongoing worries about US and China continued to nib away investor confidence, weakening the major regional markets. The Shanghai bourse lost 1.6%, Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell 1.52% as its technology-heavy bourse tracked Nasdaq’s 1.45% loss while the Hang Seng fell as much as 2% before closing 0.61% higher. The STI index was off its nadir of 2724.04 points as a result of bargain-hunting and short-covering, and closed 9.18 points lower at 2736.17. For every stock that rose, 1.83 fell. Turnover was low with 1.34bil shares with a value of $1.24bil traded.
CWT revealed plans for the sale and leaseback of its commodity hub and it shares rose to a high of 97 cents before declining to end down 0.5 cents to 93 cents. The move to unlock value would free up more cash for the company for potential acquisitions, a trader said. Biosensors surprised the market with a strong set of 3QFY2010 results. A foreign broker increased their earnings expectations and raised the price target to $1.23. The stock closed 3.5 cents up at 83.5 cents. Z-Obee shares rose 0.5 cents at 36.5 cents on hopes that the counter would rise further when it receives the approval for its dual listing in Hong Kong.
Expect market sentiment in the local bourse to be more upbeat and market to rebound modestly following reports that the pace of global manufacturing, including those in US and Britain, is picking up in response to faster economic growth. Production gains, in turn, are starting to encourage hiring needed for a sustainable recovery. Recently, companies such as Ford, Caterpillar and General Electric have announced that they are starting to add new jobs to their factories.
------
Mid Day February 2. Upside remained capped in the short term.
Wall Street's positive lead helped Asia recouped some lost ground today as traders short covered and helped some brisk bargain hunting. Strong US manufacturing data helped push Wall Street to a positive start for February and was a reason for resource stocks to lead markets higher today. The STI index reached a high at 2767.4 points at its high but retreated to end 3.19 points down at 2732.98 points. For every stock that rose, 3 fell. Turnover was 898mil shares with a value of $740 mil traded. While it was a better Tuesday, dealers report jittery clients who were using any bounce opportunities to lighten up. `The upside remains capped in the short term. Too much damage' a dealer said, relating to some penny caps that have fallen over 30 per cent in the last 2 weeks.
China Environment shares tumbled 27 per cent or 11 cents at 30 cents on rumours that company was facing some accounting irregularities issues. The Hang Seng index's rapid retreat from the 20533 level also precipitated weakness across the board as traders jettisoned their positions. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China AnimalHealthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent. Maintaining their upside were shares of Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, Keppel Land and ST Engineering rose between 2 and 28 cents.
On the balance, shares of SIA, SingTel, Keppel Corp, Wilmar, DBS, SPH, City Developments and UPP fell between 2 and 18 cents.
======
Market close Feb 2. Buying momentum stalled in the second session
The buying momentum stal led in the afternoon session, despite the morning‚s boisterous start, as traders took profit on the back of a still jittery economic environment and negative trading of the US futures. At closing bell, the benchmark STI retreated 15.30 points down at 2720.87 points. For every stock that rose, nearly 2 fell. Turnover was 1.6bil shares with a value of $1.3bil traded. Dealers reported that jittery clients who were using any bounce opportunities to lighten up. `The upside remains capped in the short term.
China Environment shares tumbled 26.8 per cent or 11 cents to 30 cents on rumours that company was facing some accounting irregularity issues.
The Hang Seng index's rapid retreat from the 20533 level also precipitated weakness across the board as traders jettisoned their positions. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China AnimalHealthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent.
Maintaining their upside were shares o f Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, and Keppel Land rose between 8 and 24 cents.
On the balance, shares of SIA, HL Asia, F&N, UOB, Kep Corp and Kim Eng, fell between 10 and 20 cents.
======
DJIA: 10185.53 +118.20
Nasdaq Composite: 2171.20 +23.85
Wall Street started the first trading day of February with strong gains following better-than-expected reports on personal income, manufacturing and profits from Exxon Mobil. Personal income rose 0.4% in December, ahead of expectations of a 0.3% rise, from an increase of 0.5% in the previous month. The ISM manufacturing index also topped expectations, rising to 58.4 in January, against expectations of a rise to 55.5, from 54.9 in December as factories stepped up production in response to boost in orders ensuing from stimulus-fuelled gain in demand and record cutbacks in inventory. Exxon Mobil’s YoY 18% decline in profit to US$1.27 per share, which topped expectations, further lifted the advance.
President Obama also unveiled a US$3.8 trillion budget for 2011 which continued to focus on battling the double-digit unemployment rate in the US before tightening the fiscal belt the following year. To boost jobs, the President is setting aside US$100 bil in tax credits in 2010 aimed at small businesses as well as investments in clean energy and infrastructure.
All the major indices ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.17% and S&P 500 rose 1.43% to close at 1,089.18. Nasdaq composite surged 1.11%.
On Tuesday, market will take leads from economic reading on pending home sales index while the US automakers will be releasing their January sales figures throughout the day.
US light crude oil for February delivery added US$1.54 to settle at US$74.53 a barrel.
In Singapore today:
Wall Street’s weak close last Friday and ongoing worries about US and China continued to nib away investor confidence, weakening the major regional markets. The Shanghai bourse lost 1.6%, Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell 1.52% as its technology-heavy bourse tracked Nasdaq’s 1.45% loss while the Hang Seng fell as much as 2% before closing 0.61% higher. The STI index was off its nadir of 2724.04 points as a result of bargain-hunting and short-covering, and closed 9.18 points lower at 2736.17. For every stock that rose, 1.83 fell. Turnover was low with 1.34bil shares with a value of $1.24bil traded.
CWT revealed plans for the sale and leaseback of its commodity hub and it shares rose to a high of 97 cents before declining to end down 0.5 cents to 93 cents. The move to unlock value would free up more cash for the company for potential acquisitions, a trader said. Biosensors surprised the market with a strong set of 3QFY2010 results. A foreign broker increased their earnings expectations and raised the price target to $1.23. The stock closed 3.5 cents up at 83.5 cents. Z-Obee shares rose 0.5 cents at 36.5 cents on hopes that the counter would rise further when it receives the approval for its dual listing in Hong Kong.
Expect market sentiment in the local bourse to be more upbeat and market to rebound modestly following reports that the pace of global manufacturing, including those in US and Britain, is picking up in response to faster economic growth. Production gains, in turn, are starting to encourage hiring needed for a sustainable recovery. Recently, companies such as Ford, Caterpillar and General Electric have announced that they are starting to add new jobs to their factories.
------
Mid Day February 2. Upside remained capped in the short term.
Wall Street's positive lead helped Asia recouped some lost ground today as traders short covered and helped some brisk bargain hunting. Strong US manufacturing data helped push Wall Street to a positive start for February and was a reason for resource stocks to lead markets higher today. The STI index reached a high at 2767.4 points at its high but retreated to end 3.19 points down at 2732.98 points. For every stock that rose, 3 fell. Turnover was 898mil shares with a value of $740 mil traded. While it was a better Tuesday, dealers report jittery clients who were using any bounce opportunities to lighten up. `The upside remains capped in the short term. Too much damage' a dealer said, relating to some penny caps that have fallen over 30 per cent in the last 2 weeks.
China Environment shares tumbled 27 per cent or 11 cents at 30 cents on rumours that company was facing some accounting irregularities issues. The Hang Seng index's rapid retreat from the 20533 level also precipitated weakness across the board as traders jettisoned their positions. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China AnimalHealthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent. Maintaining their upside were shares of Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, Keppel Land and ST Engineering rose between 2 and 28 cents.
On the balance, shares of SIA, SingTel, Keppel Corp, Wilmar, DBS, SPH, City Developments and UPP fell between 2 and 18 cents.
======
Market close Feb 2. Buying momentum stalled in the second session
The buying momentum stal led in the afternoon session, despite the morning‚s boisterous start, as traders took profit on the back of a still jittery economic environment and negative trading of the US futures. At closing bell, the benchmark STI retreated 15.30 points down at 2720.87 points. For every stock that rose, nearly 2 fell. Turnover was 1.6bil shares with a value of $1.3bil traded. Dealers reported that jittery clients who were using any bounce opportunities to lighten up. `The upside remains capped in the short term.
China Environment shares tumbled 26.8 per cent or 11 cents to 30 cents on rumours that company was facing some accounting irregularity issues.
The Hang Seng index's rapid retreat from the 20533 level also precipitated weakness across the board as traders jettisoned their positions. From their respective rebound highs, shares of Marco Polo, Epure, IndoAgric, China AnimalHealthcare and PSL shed between half and 1 cent.
Maintaining their upside were shares o f Jardine Strategic, APB, Jardine Matheson, Haw Par, Venture Corp, and Keppel Land rose between 8 and 24 cents.
On the balance, shares of SIA, HL Asia, F&N, UOB, Kep Corp and Kim Eng, fell between 10 and 20 cents.
======
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