Black Monday. coming?

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ST Index
3,467.55 -112.18

Volume
3,389.9 M

Gainers/Losers
105 / 968

* Last Updated : Friday, July 27, 2007 3:59:56 PM www.sgx.com

Asian markets decline after Dow plunges By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago



Asian markets tumbled Friday in the wake of one of Wall Street's biggest losses of the year, with Japanese stocks also taking a hit on the yen's recent strength and uncertainty about weekend elections.

Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines also fell sharply as international investors pulled out of riskier assets, including Asian emerging markets.

Investors were rattled after U.S. markets plunged Thursday amid worries over the U.S mortgage and corporate lending markets. But analysts said the sell-offs had more to do with a sudden change in sentiment than any direct link between Asian markets and U.S. subprime mortgage woes.

"If big foreign funds have selling orders, they tend to go by region. If they sell Asia funds, they do it to reevaluate portfolios or cover losses in the U.S.," said Rommel Macapagal, chairman of Westlink Global Equities

"But for local investors, it's a sentiment. When big drops occur, they tend to get jittery because of expectation of foreign funds selling. They tend to get out," he said.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index sank 418.28 points, or 2.36 percent, to close at 17,283.81. At one point, the index fell nearly 3 percent before recouping some losses. Losers included Honda Motor Co., Toshiba Corp. and Nikon Corp.

Philippine stocks suffered their biggest percentage drop in 10 years Friday, sinking 3.9 percent. Taiwan's benchmark index fell even more, dropping 4.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.9 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times index slid 3.2 percent.

In New York Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 311.50 points or 2.26 percent, to 13,473.57, its biggest point drop since Feb. 27, when a fall in the Shanghai stock market unnerved world exchanges.

In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, brushed off concerns about the influence by the U.S. stock declines on the economy in the region.

"The Japanese economy is expanding stably and I have not heard that there have been any major fluctuations in other key countries," Shiozaki said.

Investors in Japan were also unnerved by the yen's recent appreciation against the dollar, which erodes overseas income at the country's key exporters. The dollar fell to 118.70 yen in afternoon trading in Tokyo, down from 119.46 yen late Thursday in New York.

"A stronger Japanese yen has a greater impact on today's Nikkei than overnight losses on U.S. stocks," said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.

There was also anxiety in Japan about Sunday's upper house elections. Recent newspaper polls have predicted that the long ruling Liberal Democratic Party could win fewer than a third of the seats contested in Sunday's upper house elections.

A defeat would not immediately threaten its hold on power, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could face pressure to resign from other leaders within his party and from the public.

___

Associated Press Writer Hrvoje Hrjanski in Manila contributed to this report.

via : sgforums.com

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NASDAQ
----------
2511.25
-64.73
-2.51% |

DJIA
-------
13181.91
-281.42
-2.09%

S&P
-----
1433.06
-39.14
-2.66%

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Dow falls 280 points over credit worries

08/04/2007 | 07:24 AM

NEW YORK - Wall Street plunged anew Friday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 280 points after comments from a major investment bank exacerbated the market's fears of a widening credit crunch.

The drop of more than 2 percent in major stock market indexes was a fitting end to two volatile weeks on Wall Street and followed back-to-back, late-day triple digit gains in the Dow. This time, the catalyst for a sharp skid was Bear Stearns Cos. Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro, who described turmoil in the credit market as the worst he'd seen in 22 years.

Stocks started the day with a decline after the government said jobs growth was not as strong as expected last month and a trade group reported that the nation's service sector grew at a slower pace than expected in July. Then, credit concerns, which have dogged investors for months and have roiled markets since last week, further weighed on investor sentiment; Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit outlook on Bear Stearns to negative from stable because of the investment bank's exposure to the distressed mortgage and corporate buyout markets.

"I think there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty with regard to the credit markets and how the situation will ultimately settle," said Mike Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co.

Investors remain worried that problems in subprime mortgages -- those made to borrowers with poor credit histories -- will force lenders to make credit less available. When people and companies can't borrow money as easily, the economy tends to slow down.

"There is not going to be one sort of clear signal that suggests everything is OK," Malone said, referring to the subprime and credit worries. "I think it's going to take time and the equity markets are going to experience heightened volatility."

Investors could be in for more tumultuousness in the coming week, which not only includes economic figures on productivity and consumer credit, but also brings a meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, which has left short-term interest rates unchanged for the past year. Investors will likely be looking to its statement following its meeting for any word on the mortgage and credit markets.

The Dow fell 281.18 to 13,182.15. As has been typical in recent selloffs, much of the decline came late in the session; the Dow lost more than 100 points in the final 15 minutes Friday. Despite the day's loss, the index was off only 0.63 percent for the week.

Broader stock indicators also fell sharply Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 39.14, or 2.66 percent, to 1,433.06, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 64.73, or 2.51 percent, to 2,511.25. For the week, the S&P fell 1.77 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 1.99 percent.

The concerns have pulled stocks from highs seen only weeks ago. The Dow, which on July 19 closed above 14,000 for the first time, now sits about 819 points below that level. That 5.9 percent decline puts the Dow more than halfway toward the technical threshold of a correction, which is 10 percent.

Small-capitalization stocks were hit hard again Friday, partly because the global economy appears to be growing faster than that of the United States. Investors often contend profits at larger companies are more likely to hold up amid a U.S. slowdown because much of their business is drawn from overseas. The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks fell 28.57, or 3.64 percent, to 755.42.

The session also saw a notable rise in the bond market, as investors fled to the relative safety of fixed-income investments. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.68 percent from 4.77 percent late Thursday. Bond prices move opposite yields.

The unease over the mortgage market and tightening credit Friday again dragged down financial stocks, which have been hard hit in recent weeks.

Bear Stearns fell $7.28, or 6.3 percent, to $108.35. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fell $4.67, or 7.7 percent, to $55.78; the stock traded as low as $55.46, below its 52-week low of $58.85. Merrill Lynch & Co. fell $2.50, or 3.5 percent, to $70.05. The stock traded as low as $69.14, below its earlier 52-week low of $70.86.

Investors also fled lenders. American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. confirmed late Thursday it has stopped taking mortgage applications and is laying off most of its 7,000 staffers. American Home dropped 76 cents, or 52 percent, to 69 cents.

Countrywide Financial Corp. fell $1.77, or 6.6 percent, to $25. The nation's biggest mortgage lender said late Thursday it has adequate access to cash and isn't facing the liquidity crunch that is hitting dozens of other smaller players.

In economic news, which didn't provide much reason for investors to look past the mortgage and credit concerns, the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose 92,000 last month, less than the 132,000 jobs created in June and below the average forecast of about 135,000. Also, unemployment ticked up to 4.6 percent -- a six-month high -- from 4.5 percent in June. Still, overall unemployment remains low, analysts noted.

Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index, which measures service sector activity, fell in July to 55.8 from 60.7 in June. Wall Street had expected a reading of 59, according to Thomson Financial/IFR.

Investors still uncertain about the effect of rising subprime mortgage defaults on the broader economy have regarded the stable job market and consumer spending as signs the economy might hold up despite a tighter lending climate. That's because people with steady paychecks are more likely to keep spending and pay back their debt. At the same time, some pullback in employment might ease some concerns about wage inflation.

"I think the ISM and the jobs numbers are going to accelerate the general consensus view that maybe the economy is slower than anticipated," said Subodh Kumar, global investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Assoc.

"The market has become very much driven from data point to data point because of uncertainty of a number of issues," he said, citing unease over credit, oil prices, and a weak dollar.

Crude oil futures settled down $1.38 at $75.42 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the employment report suggested the economy could slow and demand for oil could fall. Crude closed at a record $78.21 a barrel on Tuesday, though ended the week 2 percent lower.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.54 billion shares compared with 4.18 billion traded Thursday.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.03 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.5 percent. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.21 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.31 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.48 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 83.56, or 0.63 percent, at 13,181.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 25.89, or 1.77 percent, at 1,433.06. The Nasdaq composite index ended down 50.99, or 1.99 percent, at 2,511.25.

The Russell 2000 index finished the week down 22.41, or 2.88 percent, at 755.42.

The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index -- a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies -- ended Friday at 14,432.34, down 278.44 for the week. A year ago, the index was at 12,826.14. - AP

via :gmanews.tv

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

likely... last week was quite bad...  while sitting in a training session and saw some of my colleagues not in the mood of working; keep staring at the monitor, checking out their limtan portfolios 

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via : edmw hwz

zippo1979

please leh... 2-3% drop is considered as MINOR correction only lar..

in fact it's good that there are these 2-3% corrections once every few days..

this creates a soft landing from the recent record highs..

this is much better than a 1 day 20% drop.

my personal opinion is this is a good time for bargain hunting.... look for the undervalued stocks where people panic sold.. and that's where you can earn when the market moves up again.

generally singapore fundamentals are still good... why should the US subprime conditions affect singapore very much? singapore market still has much room to grow with the IRs and property boom.

be brave to earn big bucks!

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Open with 100points down.

STI 3,335.5 -100.6

via : edmw hwz
*credit : furnaces1984

0945hrs.

Latest STI: 3346.57 (-89.47).

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^STI   Straits Times   3,303.82  3:27PM SGT   Down 132.22 (3.85%)   Components, More
^SESD   UOB Sesdaq   233.75 3:26PM SGT   Down 17.93 (7.12%)   More
^BSRI   BT-SRI   1,658.07 3:26PM SGT   Down 67.10 (3.89%)   More
^MAIN   SingEquities Mainbd   171.60 3:26PM SGT   Down 6.98 (3.91%)   More
^FRGN   SingEquities Foreign   328.16 3:26PM SGT   Down 12.36 (3.63%)   More
^ELCT   SingEquities Elect   116.32 3:26PM SGT   Down 4.60 (3.80%)   More
^HLRS   All-S Equitites Hotels   1,447.45 3:26PM SGT   Down 53.64 (3.57%)   More
^CMCE   All-S Equities Com   1,099.08 3:26PM SGT   Down 59.04 (5.10%)   More
^ASIN   All-SingEquities   915.18 3:26PM SGT   Down 37.65 (3.95%)   More
^MLTI   All-S Equities Multi   2,632.92 3:26PM SGT   Down 100.45 (3.67%)   More
^CONT   All-S Equities Cons   636.82 3:26PM SGT   Down 51.97 (7.55%)   More
^PROP   All-S Equities Prop   1,427.66 3:26PM SGT   Down 67.54 (4.52%)   More
^FIAN   All-S Equities Fin   2,322.01 3:21PM SGT   Down 122.69 (5.02%)   More
^TSCM   All-S Equities TSC   1,622.63 3:26PM SGT   Down 35.66 (2.15%)   More
^MAFT   All-S Equities Mig   1,367.26 3:26PM SGT   Down 60.62 (4.25%)   More

via : http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/indices

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Index Value:   3,308.99
Trade Time:   5:05PM SGT
Change:   Down 127.05 (3.70%)
Prev Close:   3,436.04
Open:   3,339.38
Day's Range:   3,295.43 - 3,352.16
52wk Range:   2,618.34 - 3,688.58

*via : Yahoo Finance

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

still not too bad.

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it's actually quite bad. at one time it went 4 below.

it's the year for big changes. big gains, big loses.

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the physiological 3300 barrier.

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Wed, Aug 08, 2007
Reuters
   
SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose more than 2 percent in early trade on Wednesday as investors bought banking stocks that had been sold down in previous sessions.

By 0131 GMT, the key Straits Times Index was up 2.07 percent at 3,370.50 points.

DBS Group , Southeast Asia's biggest lender, was up 4.4 percent, and United Overseas Bank , Singapore's second-biggest lender, was up 3.5 percent.

REUTERS

via : news.asia1

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STI   3,288.23    -124.94   (-3.66%)
SESDAQ   226.44    -9.88   (-4.18%)
BT-SRI   1,643.49    -66.70   (-3.90%)
KLSE Comp   1,313.39    +6.22   (+0.48%)
Nikkei 225   16,751.81    -418.79   (-2.44%)
Hang Seng   22,439.36    0.00   (0.00%)
Dow   13,270.68    -387.18   (-2.83%)
Nasdaq   2,556.49    -56.49   (-2.16%)

via : http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/

==========

woot. people with weak stomach wouldn't like this.

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all RED

^STI   Straits Times   3,289.26  10:13AM SGT   Down 123.91 (3.63%)   Components, More
^SESD   UOB Sesdaq   226.31 10:11AM SGT   Down 10.01 (4.24%)   More
^BSRI   BT-SRI   1,640.69 10:11AM SGT   Down 69.50 (4.06%)   More
^MAIN   SingEquities Mainbd   169.83 10:11AM SGT   Down 6.03 (3.43%)   More
^FRGN   SingEquities Foreign   322.43 10:11AM SGT   Down 8.45 (2.55%)   More
^ELCT   SingEquities Elect   114.48 10:06AM SGT   Down 4.33 (3.64%)   More
^HLRS   All-S Equitites Hotels   1,414.11 10:11AM SGT   Down 28.43 (1.97%)   More
^CMCE   All-S Equities Com   1,071.74 10:11AM SGT   Down 55.03 (4.88%)   More
^ASIN   All-SingEquities   906.75 10:11AM SGT   Down 33.48 (3.56%)   More
^MLTI   All-S Equities Multi   2,591.47 10:11AM SGT   Down 108.83 (4.03%)   More
^CONT   All-S Equities Cons   615.78 10:11AM SGT   Down 33.09 (5.10%)   More
^PROP   All-S Equities Prop   1,420.31 10:11AM SGT   Down 52.41 (3.56%)   More
^FIAN   All-S Equities Fin   2,342.12 10:11AM SGT   Down 100.69 (4.12%)   More
^TSCM   All-S Equities TSC   1,592.88 10:11AM SGT   Down 47.21 (2.88%)   More
^MAFT   All-S Equities Mig   1,350.34 10:11AM SGT   Down 44.51 (3.19%)   More

via : http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/indices

and mostly equities..

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

all affected by US market even though PM very optimistic with the country performance ... if this goes on, it should fall back to the initial predictions.