<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Aug 16, 2008
BULLS AND BEARS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>STI below 2,800 - lowest in 5 months
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Analysts not ruling out more losses amid weak sentiment, low volumes </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yang Huiwen
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SOURING sentiment and a lack of buying interest sent the local market down below the 2,800 level for the first time since March 17, closing the doors on a forgettable week.
It did look early on that it might stay above that mark but the mood turned bleak in the afternoon when data showed that Singapore's retail sales had fallen for the first time in four months.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
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Straits Times index
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A sharp mid-afternoon dip in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index did not help matters and left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 19.16 points at 2,797.50, a touch above the March 17 low of 2,792.75.
It is down 10 points, or 0.36 per cent, for the week.
'Sentiment in the local market is very weak, and investors tend to look towards other markets, especially the Hang Seng, for directions,' said a local remisier.
'It is easier to trigger some selling than to prompt some buying.'
A rally may be hard to come by, given the weak market breadth and low trading volume, which shrank to just 927.5 million shares worth $1.037 billion.
Wilmar International came under attack, with investors taking profit after four straight days of rises and an overall gain of more than 7 per cent.
The stock fell 21 cents to $3.99 on volume of 10.5 million, single-handedly shaving more than 7 points off the index.
Analysts are not ruling out further losses, with DBS Vickers predicting the STI could trend even lower, towards 2,680.
This will occur if the commodity and offshore and marine components of the index continue to underperform, 'in line with the consolidation trend in oil and commodity prices, as well as SingTel following weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings', it said in a report.
But after reaching that level, the STI should head back towards 3,160 'because a lower inflation scenario benefits other sectors'.
'Talking up the market amid a sea of bearish sentiments hasn't worked so far,' said AmFraser Securities' senior vice- president of research Najeeb Jarhom, judging by the short-lived technical rebounds which 'disappeared as soon as they surfaced'.
Rig builders, whose shares have been tracking movements in the oil price, lost their shine after oil slid by more than a dollar to below US$114 a barrel.
A faltering Keppel Corp, which fell 6 cents to $10.28, and Sembcorp Marine, which lost 7 cents to $3.77, brought the index lower.
Property developers continued to be sold down after fresh data validated concerns of slowing home sales and falling prices. City Developments lost 26 cents to $10.18, while CapitaLand lost 6 cents to $4.94.
Most second-line indices were also in the red, with the FTSE Mid Cap Index losing 2.77 points to 659.17 while the Small Cap Index slipped 0.67 point to 552.64. [email protected]
BULLS AND BEARS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>STI below 2,800 - lowest in 5 months
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Analysts not ruling out more losses amid weak sentiment, low volumes </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yang Huiwen
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SOURING sentiment and a lack of buying interest sent the local market down below the 2,800 level for the first time since March 17, closing the doors on a forgettable week.
It did look early on that it might stay above that mark but the mood turned bleak in the afternoon when data showed that Singapore's retail sales had fallen for the first time in four months.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A sharp mid-afternoon dip in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index did not help matters and left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 19.16 points at 2,797.50, a touch above the March 17 low of 2,792.75.
It is down 10 points, or 0.36 per cent, for the week.
'Sentiment in the local market is very weak, and investors tend to look towards other markets, especially the Hang Seng, for directions,' said a local remisier.
'It is easier to trigger some selling than to prompt some buying.'
A rally may be hard to come by, given the weak market breadth and low trading volume, which shrank to just 927.5 million shares worth $1.037 billion.
Wilmar International came under attack, with investors taking profit after four straight days of rises and an overall gain of more than 7 per cent.
The stock fell 21 cents to $3.99 on volume of 10.5 million, single-handedly shaving more than 7 points off the index.
Analysts are not ruling out further losses, with DBS Vickers predicting the STI could trend even lower, towards 2,680.
This will occur if the commodity and offshore and marine components of the index continue to underperform, 'in line with the consolidation trend in oil and commodity prices, as well as SingTel following weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings', it said in a report.
But after reaching that level, the STI should head back towards 3,160 'because a lower inflation scenario benefits other sectors'.
'Talking up the market amid a sea of bearish sentiments hasn't worked so far,' said AmFraser Securities' senior vice- president of research Najeeb Jarhom, judging by the short-lived technical rebounds which 'disappeared as soon as they surfaced'.
Rig builders, whose shares have been tracking movements in the oil price, lost their shine after oil slid by more than a dollar to below US$114 a barrel.
A faltering Keppel Corp, which fell 6 cents to $10.28, and Sembcorp Marine, which lost 7 cents to $3.77, brought the index lower.
Property developers continued to be sold down after fresh data validated concerns of slowing home sales and falling prices. City Developments lost 26 cents to $10.18, while CapitaLand lost 6 cents to $4.94.
Most second-line indices were also in the red, with the FTSE Mid Cap Index losing 2.77 points to 659.17 while the Small Cap Index slipped 0.67 point to 552.64. [email protected]
