Other Asian markets are also holding up, and futures are positive for now. The market is adopting wait-and-see approach to see how the Fed info is being digested.
If people needs an excuse to take some profit off the table, this is one of them. And also Thurs: Weekly jobless claims report Fri: Employment report (weakness expected).
Days ahead could see more profit taking from the recent run.
I guess I sound like a pessimist though this is my 1st post here... Looking at the top 20 volumes on SGX site, only 4 stocks are priced above $1... looks like penny stocks are the flavour of the day. To put it in Alan Greenspan's words... "irrational exuberance"?
oops..apologies for the repeated post; comp hung and didn't know if msg got through so i refreshed the page.
advances vs declines was higher yea, but unchanged was quite significant too. SPC...relax la...don't think it's hit bottom yet. some change coming tho. will be watching this counter.
i actually locked in most of my profits in nov 'cos was going for long hols (and didn't trust market haha); so holding only a few trading positions now.
just divested ho bee (bought 1.28, sold 1.45). left allco reits and macqinf.
might keep the latter as long term counter though; has good divvy yield. Plus, it hasn't made its run yet, tho its TA is wishy-washy. how abt you, if you don't mind sharing?
i actually locked in most of my profits in nov 'cos was going for long hols (and didn't trust market haha); so holding only a few trading positions now.
just divested ho bee (bought 1.28, sold 1.45). left allco reits and macqinf.
might keep the latter as long term counter though; has good divvy yield. Plus, it hasn't made its run yet, tho its TA is wishy-washy. how abt you, if you don't mind sharing?
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Shares indexes in Hong Kong and Singapore ended at record highs Wednesday as investors added to positions in the belief that last year's bull market has further to run in 2007.
However, Thailand's benchmark SET Index tumbled as much as 3.8% as trading resumed for the first time since Bangkok was rocked by a series of bombs on New Year's Eve that killed three people and injured dozens more. The Thai market, along with much of the region, was shut on Monday and Tuesday for New Year holidays.
Japan's stock exchanges remained closed for national holidays. They are scheduled to re-open Thursday. Financial markets in China are also closed for the holiday and will reopen Thursday.
Among those bourses trading on Wednesday, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 1.7% to 3,037.74, breaching the 3,000-point level for the first time. Government data showed the economy expanded at an annualized 7.6% rate in the fourth quarter, up from 5.6% growth in the third quarter.
And Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 0.5% higher, rising 103 points to a record 20,413.99. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, Hong Kong's benchmark for China shares, extended its New Year gains into a second consecutive session, rising 1.3%, or 132.66 points, to 10,766.08.
"People are still quite optimistic about the short-term outlook," said Y.K. Chang, a fund manager with Philip Asset Management in Hong Kong.
He added the Hong Kong trading session was marked by rising intraday volatility, reflecting investor skittishness after weeks of strong gains.
"Many people are afraid of a sudden turnaround in the market, but nobody knows where the peak is, so when share prices turn down we are seeing sharp selling," Chan said. "We are now in the beginning of the year and people are beginning to build up their portfolios, so that means a lot of shares are changing hands and that means a lot of volatility."
Elsewhere around the region, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 1.4% to end near a 10-year high.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.8% after the government forecast export growth will slow to 10.4% this year, down from 14.6% growth in 2006.
New Zealand's NZSX-50 index eased 0.2% and Taiwan's Weighted Price Index ended 0.04% lower. Malaysia's KLSE Composite rose 1.7%, Indonesia's JSX Composite shed 0.1% to 1,834.71 and India's Bombay Sensex gained 0.5% to 14,014.92.
In commodities, gold and oil futures were little changed throughout the day, with volumes relatively thin as many traders were away on holiday or awaiting cues from U.S. after an extended four-day closure in financial markets there.
Front-month crude-oil futures fell as much as 60 cents to $60.45 a barrel in electronic trading. Spot gold fell $2.70 to $637 an ounce.
U.S. markets were scheduled to re-open later in the day Wednesday. They were closed on Monday for the New Year's holiday and on Tuesday in observance of a state funeral for former President Gerald Ford.
Bullish on China
Analysts said Hong Kong was enjoying large fund inflows from investors seeking to buy stakes in the China growth story.
"There is fresh cash coming into the market," said Miles Remington, head of sales trading at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong. "Investors are looking at the very positive response to the first day of trading in 2007 on Tuesday and with the China markets closed you are still seeing a lot of people playing China through Hong Kong until they get the opportunity to start trading back in Shenzhen and Shanghai tomorrow."
Some analysts see potential upside for 3 underperforming S'pore stock sectors
By TEH HOOI LING, Published January 3, 2007
(SINGAPORE) Investors in Singapore appear to be losing interest in local manufacturers, if the performance of companies on the stock market is anything to go by. But some see this as a 'buy' signal.
Figures for last year show that the SES Manufacturing Index only managed a total return of 16.5 per cent - just about half the return of the Straits Times Index (STI). Even though in absolute terms this is a fine performance, it is the second worst performing sector index, with the worst being the more narrowly defined electronics sector. Against the backdrop of a bull market, the electronics index slid 2.3 per cent in 2006.
This brings the electronics index's decline in the last three years to 33 per cent. Payment of dividends helped offset some of those losses, bringing the total decline to 24 per cent. Still, it is the only sector to have lost shareholders' value in the last three years - to the tune of nearly 9 per cent a year since the start of 2004.
The small cap stocks listed on the UOB Sesdaq Index and construction stocks played some major catch-up in 2006. But on a three-year horizon, they still lag behind other sectors.
The lack of performance of these few sectors has resulted in them having relatively cheap valuations. Given this, coupled with some positive industry developments, analysts think there will be room for these sectors to move upwards.
Many of the electronics companies are victims of the protracted down-cycle after the collapse of the dotcom bubble. The industry has spent the last few years working off its excesses, and recent increased merger and acquisition activities suggest that it is ready to move forward.
There has been a surge in private equity buyout deals, especially in the contract manufacturing sector, noted DBS Vickers Securities. In addition to this group, corporates seeking to grow, diversify, increase market share and achieve synergistic benefits, have fuelled M&A activities.
'We see opportunities in the technology sector,' it said. 'We believe the recent spate of M&As in 2H06 is just the beginning as many technology companies are trading at cheap valuations.'
Following the proposed consolidation of Jabil/Green Point Enterprise and privatisation of First Engineering in the plastics sector, DBS Vickers believes Hi-P and Fu Yu are potential takeover targets in the sector, given their capabilities, diversified portfolio and traction with prominent multinationals such as Motorola, Hewlett- Packard and Gillette.
Meanwhile, construction companies are expected to emerge from their nine-year doldrums as more jobs become available from the upcoming integrated resort projects, new retail malls planned for Orchard Road, and new condominiums coming up from en-bloc sales sites in the past few years, said Phillip Securities' senior dealing director, Gabriel Yap.
In particular, he fancies companies involved in bored piling. He cited BBR and CSC Holdings. 'Pseudo construction/property companies like Chip Eng Seng and Sim Lian have run in 2006 because of the strong property market. I would expect the heavy bored pile drillers to do catch-up, as one or two major contracts are sufficient to effect a major swing in profits for both BBR and CSC.'
Furthermore, after restructuring, both companies' balance sheets would suggest that they can undertake major and bigger jobs. 'Using the last peak as a guide, stocks of then construction companies like Poh Lian, Lian Beng, Wee Poh gained by more than five-fold over three years,' said Mr Yap.
Sesdaq's annualised 11.8 per cent return over the last three years is less than half of the STI's 24.3 per cent. OCBC Investment Research said: 'We expect investors' interest to move from the current big- to mid-cap stocks to mid- to small-cap stocks.' Sectors it likes include furniture and hard-disk drive component makers.
But some sectors which turned in a superb showing in 2006 continue to look attractive, the researchers say. Order flows for the marine, oil & gas related stocks remain strong. Even property stocks, having rewarded investors with a 74.3 per cent return last year and 45.5 per cent a year in the last three years, are rated 'overweight' by a few broking firms, including DBS Vickers.
'We expect residential prices to rise by 15 per cent by end 2007,' DBS Vickers said. 'The lead taken by high-end properties is expected to filter through to the mid-tier mass market.'
Still, with new records being created by the STI each passing day, it is inevitable that volatility too will increase. 'The market will be susceptible to any hint of negative newsflows,' DBS Vickers warned. It expects a correction towards the end of first quarter 2007.
Phillip's Mr Yap shares the view. 'I'm optimistic in 1Q2007, but would then expect a correction in 2Q2007. Generally, I would tend to be more cautious as we have had two very good years in terms of equity price gains.'
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