Straits Times Index   

STI

STI play today is share of tech counters, blue chips like DBS,UOB, Keppel stables. To a certian extent, property stocks are also well supported after their good run the past few weeks. Centillion and equation are still among the top vol as well as some other sesdaq counters suggest strong retail interest. Heavy weights like Singtel failed to rise eventhough with high vol. Thai beverage also heavily traded but only dropped half a cent due to Thai authorities banning aloholic advertisements.Next week could be the start of a tech run and consolidation of property stocks.

 

Wow! STI closed up 2,666.68 today. Other Asian markets did darn well too.

But, U.S. stock futures are indicating a lower open Friday after a report showing a surprise drop in retail sales, with an in-line quarterly earnings report from General Electric also doing little to boost sentiment. Let's see if Dow can go beyond the 12,000 mark tonite!



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Friday October 13, 7:01 PM

Asian stocks rally on Wall Street record

Asian stocks took their cue from a record close on Wall Street and closed sharply higher with many striking all-time or multi-year highs on growing confidence in the global economy.

Dealers said New York was driven by optimism over US corporate earnings and after the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey provided some reassurance the US economy is holding up relatively well even as the key housing market stalls.

That was enough to allow a strong finish to an historic week which saw North Korea announce an atomic test Monday and then threaten war and more to come if sanctions were imposed for its opening up of the pandora's box of nuclear proliferation.

Security jitters were to the fore too after a small plane crashed into a Manhattan apartment block Wednesday, recalling the September 11 horrors, but on news it was an accident, investors returned their focus to market fundamentals.

As a result the Dow Jones jumped 0.81 percent to a record close, setting up Asia for a strong day -- Singapore, Mumbai and Jakarta hit all-time highs while Hong Kong, Sydney and Jakarta were all within sight of historic records.

Markets elsewhere were trading near five and six year highs Friday.

"We are basically tracking Wall Street very closely and we are looking at banks and blue chips to lead the gainers," UOB Kay Hian director John Yap said from Singapore where the benchmark was up 0.99 percent.

He added that easing oil prices and relative stability in Northeast Asia despite North Korea's nuclear test also encouraged investors.

In Mumbai, up 1.58 percent, R. Balakrishnan, director of Parallex Consultancy Services, said longer-term money was entering India which would help keep the markets buoyant in the months to come.

"Strong corporate earnings in two successive quarters and the easing of inflationary pressures have led to the sharp rise."

A dealer at brokerage Jamnadas Morarjee added: "It's Friday the 13th for the bears (investors who believe the market will fall). We expect the buying momentum to sustain throughout the day."

Elsewhere, Tokyo closed 1.02 percent higher, Taipei gained 1.21 percent and Seoul was up 1.26 percent, having recouped nearly all the losses suffered in the aftermath of Pyongyang's nuclear tests.

Local factors also contributed to the positive tone.

Improved metal prices pushed Sydney up 0.58 percent, better than expected export figures was behind a 0.90 percent spike in Manila and strong profits by electricity group Tenaga lifted Kuala Lumpur 0.81 percent.

Reports of a strong response to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's public offering, potentially the world's largest ever, helped Hong Kong to close 0.65 percent up with the index near the key 18,000-point level.

"Market sentiment is very positive after Wall Street hit a new high," said Kitty Chan, director at Celestial Asia Securities in Hong Kong. "Blue chips and Chinese financial stocks all saw strong buying interest."

In Sydney, AMP head of investment strategy and chief economist Shane Oliver said Australian shares are likely to continue following the rebound in global markets.

"The May record high is now within easy reach, just a few days trading away, and the ASX 200 is likely to reach 5,500 points by year end," he said.

 

    Agree, Nos., 3100 is a long shot at this point. However, technically, it does show that possibility now.



    There is a difference of some 400 points between 2667 and 2277. When this 400 points is added to the breakout point it is about 3070. May or may not be realised, only time will tell.



     I do hope it will happen but will caution against getting carried away. One step at a time, let's hope for 2800/2850 by year end. It is already a big bonus to all if this happens. At this point, we should be beware of pull back which normally happen after a breakout.

 

3100, haven't we heard it before? Oh yes, during the dot.com boom. Look what happened then. STI crashed to 1200 in 2003. I'm not so optimstic. It'll have to get past 2800 first.

 

With STI clearing 2667 convincingly this morning, the double bottom formation (the two bottoms in Oct 05 and Jun 06) has been established. This is a very bullish sign. We are seeing STI moving into uncharted territory now. It has a potential of reaching 3100. Most signs are positive. Hope there is no major hiccups and we can probably see STI hitting an intermediate target of 2800/2850 by year end.



Cheers for a bright future!!!

 

STI powered past its previous peak set on May 10 with a new record of 2680.12. It was led by banks and Singtel.

 

Singapore Equity Strategy: Feedback From Europe/UK Marketing

Positive on Singapore ? Clients in the UK and Europe were overweight Singapore
and were keen on the restructuring story and efforts by the government to further
develop the services sector.

Property was in focus ? Investors were positive on property, agreeing with our
positive stance on the office market and on the mid- to upper-end of the residential
sector. Investors were asking about blue-sky scenarios that could support a further
re-rating of the sector.

Opinion was divided over developers ? Valuations appear rich but some were
prepared to hold in the absence of large liquid proxies to the Singapore residential
sector. Investors generally agreed with our explanation that the mass residential
sector continued to be hampered by the effects of a dual economy and the
unintended consequences of CPF cuts made in 2003.

Rotation into banks? ? Investors noted some rotation to the banks especially DBS
(DBSM.SI - S$20.0; 2L), on the domestic demand theme. However, many
remained cautious towards the banks given the lackluster loan growth.

Pullback in O&M ? Many who own Keppel (KPLM.SI - S$14.8; 1L) and SembCorp
Marine (SCMN.SI - S$3.4; 1L) continue to do so in spite of the pullback in the oil
price. However, there was some concern that the shares might underperform due
to the close correlation of the share price with the oil price.

Disappointment in telcos ? Investors were disappointed over the performance of
the telcos and wondered what will provide the catalyst for Sing Tel (STEL.SI -
S$2.45; 1L) to reach our price target. Starhub (STAR.SI - S$2.21; 1L) was the
preferred stock among investors for the capital management angle, but even
Starhub saw underperformance in recent weeks. People who owned M-1 (MONE.SI
- S$2.14; 2L) said they were holding for the attractive yield and potential M&A.

Interest returning to SPH (SPRM.SI - S$4.24; 1L)? ? Although there was strong
push back from investors on our positive view on SPH, many conceded that it had
value and an attractive dividend. We highlighted the launch of its Times Industrial
Building redevelopment as a potential catalyst.

 

Today's closing at 2,647.66 erased yesterday's drop due to S'pore good advance Q3 results out today. Shiok! This is earning reporting month .... STI should be able to test its intraday record high of 2,667.00 effortlessly - provided no more terrorists' stunts & nuclear threats from Iran and N. Korea. Too early for bird flu though! But this flu is active in winter ....

 

The worrying thing is that a nuclear capable North Korean may spark off an arms race in the region. This will heighten tensions and will not be good for the regional economy.

 

Maybe when the initial shock is absorbed and the angry dust settled soon, confidence in the markets will return and attention is not focussed on that one incident. I reckon having some nuclear capabilty is not the end of the world. Self preservation also matters in the overall picture.

 

A slight rebounce... but I still think there's caution in the air while the UN sorts out what to do with N. Korea.

 

STI will rebounce today .......... Shiok! ------------------- Tuesday October 10, 6:58 AM

Singapore Data Watch - Monetary policy and GDP SINGAPORE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The following Singapore economic indicators and events are scheduled for release soon. DATE LOCAL/GMT INDICATOR/EVENT PERIOD FORECAST PREVIOUS -----------------------------Oct 9-Oct 13---------------------------- 10/10 0800/0000 Monetary policy statement unchanged unchanged 10/10 0800/0000 Advance GDP q/q (s/a) Q3 2.0 3.0 10/10 0800/0000 Advance GDP y/y Q3 6.2 8.1

 

so another Bloody Mary day or pinacolada today? =)

 

take it easy  chipchip66, the reason of down cuz there is up =)

 

Today will drink Bloody Mary to ease my headaches!!

 

major lao sai today.... STI kanna stomachache because of Uncle Kim

 

STI Drop must be because of the following issue. US future drop more than 30+ point now

The apparent nuclear test was conducted at 10:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) in Hwaderi near Kilju city, Yonhap reported, citing defense officials.

 

   Not a good morning. Hope it will stabilise here and recover some lost ground in the afternoon.

 

crash..... crash .... all regional markets in the red.

 

wow, now drop 30+ pts liao !