LMIR: Gravestone doji.

After a valiant attempt to break out of resistance in late June as price hit a high of 48.5c, LMIR has retreated to close at 46.5c today, forming a gravestone doji in the process.  This took place after a session of high volume buy ups yesterday when a white candle was formed but ultimately, the price was resisted by a combination of the 20d and 50d MAs at 47c.

It is clear from the OBV that since hitting a high of 48.5c on 22 Jun, there has been greater distribution than accumulation of units of LMIR.  The RSI has been forming lower highs which suggests a sustained momentum in the price decline. The MFI enjoyed a brief bump upwards yesterday as volume rose on a white candle day. It has, however, turned down again today. The MACD is below the signal line and looks set to cross into negative territory. The technicals are, undoubtedly, bearish.

FSL Trust: Above the 20dMA.

FSL Trust, for the first time since 23 April, closed above the 20dMA which is currently at 38.5c. Bollinger bands are squeezing which indicates the possibility of a big move in either direction.  In this case, chances are the move would be positive.

Momentum oscillators continue to rise.  The MFI has formed another higher low as it rises above 50%.  Demand is back. RSI too formed a higher low which suggests that price is rising at a good pace. OBV is flattish which suggests a lack of heavy distribution.  Perhaps, the sellers are done selling.  MACD continues to rise above the signal line but is still in negative territory.  This could just be a rebound.  Although volume increased today, it is rather modest compared to the volumes on the black candle days which sent the price down to where it is today. Volume will have to expand more meaningfully in future sessions to try and push the price higher.

The low of 11 Jun at 36c could indeed have been the bottom.  However, we need confirmation in the next session that the 20dMA at 38.5c is indeed resistance turned support. Once confirmed, price could possibly rise to close the gap at 43.5c which approximates the declining 50dMA if momentum remains positive.

Related post:
FSL Trust: Land ahoy?

Golden Agriculture: Rebounding.

Golden Agriculture dipped briefly below the 200dMA before moving higher to close at resistance provided by the 50dMA at 53.5c.  This coincides with the trendline resistance which connects the high of 26 April at 62c and the lower high of 21 Jun at 55.5c.  This is the second downtrend. The first one connects the high of 26 April and the lower high of 13 May at 56.5c.  The second downtrend is gentler than the first and less dramatic.

Although trading volume increased today, it is not very heavy.  This might just be a rebound but if we believe in fan lines, price could move higher to break the trendline resistance to retest 55c as resistance.  This resistance level is quite obvious from past candlesticks and it is also where we find the flattish 100dMA. If the rebound is strong, price could even go up to 56c to retest resistance established earlier in May when the lower high of 56.5c was formed.  That, I believe, might be the extent of the current upmove.

MFI, a momentum oscillator which accounts for both price and volume has been in decline and this suggests a weakening demand. Price is probably moving up due to a lack of sellers and not because of an abundance of buyers. OBV is up which suggests that some accumulation is happening and there is some support. Downside could thus be limited.

Price of CPO is still entrenched in a downtrend and it does not look like the situation would be improving anytime soon.  The fundamentals are not strong but the share price is enjoying a bounce.  Immediate support at 52c and immediate resistance is at 53.5c.  If resistance is taken out, next resistance is a band from 55c to 56c.

Charts in brief: 5 Jul 10.

NOL: MFI did not manage to recapture 50% as support and its continuing decline suggests a lack of demand.  RSI similarly did not manage to recapture 50% as support and this suggests the speed of decline in price is relentless. Downtrend in price is intact. Since forming an inverted hammer on 21 Jun, volume has increased as price declined.  In the last two sessions, trading volume has fallen somewhat. This might or might not be a temporary respite.  I see support at the flat 200dMA, $1.83, and resistance at a confluence of MAs, $1.98.

SPH: Price touched a high of $3.88 again. MFI is rising sharply.  Demand is strong.  OBV is rising.  Accumulation is ongoing. Volume is, however, a tad lower today.  Breaking $3.88 could possibly see a target at $4.08 reached. Resistance at $3.95, the lower high formed on 10 May, would have to be taken out first, in such a case.

Metro: This counter has been in a downtrend since it peaked on 7 Jan, touching a high of 90.5c. Since May, indicators are showing some strength returning.  MFI has been climbing since late May.  OBV has been rising since late May.  RSI has been rising since early May.  The peak in distribution happened on 25 May as an ugly black candle was accompanied by a huge spike in trading volume.  A low of 73.5c was touched in two separate sessions on 21 May and 7 Jun.  That likely is the immediate support for now.  With momentum oscillators bouyant, it is unlikely that 73.5c would be taken out anytime soon.  In fact, the 20dMA has been rising gently since middle of June. The trend is still down but the worst might just be over, for now.

Related posts:
NOL: Downtrend.
Charts in brief: 2 Jul 10.

K-Green Trust: A stable source of passive income.

I spent some time recently looking into the latest trust to list in the stock market here: K-Green Trust (KGT). This is an infrastructure business trust listed by Keppel Corporation recently. Initially, it only has three assets:

1. Senoko Waste-to-Energy Plant

(Concession period: 15 years from 1 Sep 09)

2. Keppel Seghers Tuas Waste-to-Energy Plant

(Concession period: 25 years from 30 Oct 09)

3. Keppel Seghers Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant

(Concession period: 20 years from 28 March 07)

The Waste-to-Energy plants treat close to half of Singapore's incinerable waste while the NEWater plant is one of Singapore's largest.

The main attraction of this trust is the stability of its non-cyclical cash flows and a lack of counter-party risks as its customers are NEA and PUB.

Using the usual metrics for analysing trusts, we find that KGT has zero gearing, has an estimated dpu of 7.82c (which translates into a yield of 7.38% based on the last traded price of $1.06) and is currently trading at a 5.5% discount to its NAV of $1.12. Although the small discount to NAV is unattractive, the zero gearing is.  There is room for KGT to gear up to, say, 40% and improve its dpu in time.

Stable cash flow, low risk and room to grow.  This sounds like a good addition to my passive income portfolio. It diversifies my income stream and injects a higher level of stability at the same time. The lower yield is acceptable because of its debt free balance sheet.  When a balance sheet is heavy in debt, the risk is higher and, consequently, I would demand a higher yield.

I would like to buy some units of KGT but how much would I pay? On its first day of trading, KGT started off at $1.17 and hit a high of $1.33 and closed at $1.11. Usually, I would depend on TA here but being so new in its listing, four days old, to be exact, TA is impossible. However, we can see that it reached a low of $1.00 on 1 Jul and formed a white candle with a long upper wick on 2 Jul as it closed at $1.06.  This suggests some selling pressure.

Why the selling pressure? If we remember that KGT units were actually given to existing shareholders of Keppel Corporation as a special dividend, the reason becomes apparent. Some shareholders are monetising their "dividends".  If this continues to play out and if the buying interest does not strengthen to counter balance the selling pressure, KGT unit price could go lower.

I would be quite happy to collect some units at $1.00 which would give a yield of 7.82% to begin with.

K-Green Trust rated hold
Monday, 28 June 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

China Hongxing: Bottoming?

In an earlier analysis on 14 March, I mentioned that "A broader head and shoulders pattern which stretched over a duration of about nine months is now quite obvious.  This, coupled with the obvious downtrend of all the moving averages suggest that more downside is on the cards.  Accumulating at supports in an uptrend is a good idea.  Accumulating at supports in a downtrend is a different story as supports could quickly become resistance.

"Using Fibo lines, we see that 14.5c is a 123.6% support.  Unless there is an upmove with meaningful volume in the near future, a test of the 138.2% Fibo support is most likely and that is at 13c.  Thereafter, the 150% Fibo support is at 12c. Further downside cannot be discounted as a valid head and shoulders pattern would see the ultimate downside target somewhere at 10c."

Although 11.5c is now a many times tested support since 24 May, is it the bottom or just a floor?  On 15 Jun, volume expanded as the 20dMA resistance at 12c was taken out. The following session saw a follow through that tested the resistance provided by the 50dMA at 13.5c. The euphoria was short lived as the 50dMA proved too strong to be taken out and price has been pushed down since.  The 20dMA is once again resistance at 12c and, in the last session, a gravestone doji was formed as price closed once more at 11.5c.

A very interesting fact is found in the OBV.  Although the price is clearly in a downtrend, OBV is flattish. This suggests a lack of heavy distribution. Also, as price fell, volume has generally declined with the exception of one or two sessions. These observations suggest that most of the sellers are probably done selling by now.

The 20dMA has flattened which suggests that the short term downtrend has halted. However the longer term MAs are still declining. So, the trend is still down. However, if we look at the MACD, it has formed a higher low and has recently flattened.  Despite being in negative territory, this positive divergence between price and MACD is an indicator that the downtrend is losing strength.

Should we jump back in and go long here?  Looking at the momentum oscillators, we see that the MFI is down both over the shorter term as well as the longer term. This suggests a lack of demand.  The RSI shows the same picture which suggests a sustained momentum in the decline in price. These indicators are not spotting any positive divergence with price.

So, the conclusion is that although the speed of decline has slowed and the counter seems to have found a stronger support at 11.5c, the trend is still down and the momentum is negative. The price action of this counter has proven treacherous before and unless there is a clear sign of bottoming, I would avoid going long.  Any long position taken here should be a smallish hedge and nothing more.

Related post:
China Hongxing: Downside target?

Charts in brief: 2 Jul 10.

AIMS AMP Cap Ind REIT: Volume rose today as more shares changed hands at the 21.5c support.  MFI declined sharply as short term demand seems to have disappeared. In spite of this, there is no sharp decline in the OBV.  Instead, it is flattish which suggests a lack of heavy distribution activity. From the high achieved on 3 Jun, price seems to be doing a low volume pullback to support.  If 21.5c support should break, I would be happy to buy more at the long term support of 20.5c.  Based on FA, I think that is a very attractive price. TA is more mutable and needs to be looked at again at that point in time.

According to DTZ Research, the improving Singapore economy has caused industrial rents in Singapore to rise for the first time after quarters of decline since Q3 2008.

DTZ’s latest report on industrial property stated, “Average monthly gross rents of first-storey private industrial space edged up 2.6% quarter-on-quarter (QOQ) to $2.00 per sq ft and 3.2% QOQ to $1.60 per sq ft for upper-storey space per month. Since the height in Q3 2008, average monthly gross rents of first-storey and upper-storey private industrial space have fallen 14.9% and 22.0% respectively.”

However, the research consultancy reported that “rents for hi-tech industrial properties, which include business park and science park space, were unchanged at $3.15 per sq per month in Q2 2010.”Article here.

Healthway Medical: Clinging on to support at 19c while forming a gravestone doji is ominous. The rising 20dMA is exactly at 19c now.  Will it push the price higher in the next session or will it fail as support? The MFI, which accounts for price and volume and is a measure of demand is clearly in decline.  The OBV shows the sharpest drop in three weeks, suggesting that distribution is heightening. MACD continues to decline below the signal line. It is obvious that upward momentum and demand have both weakened. If 19c breaks as support, next support is not far away at 18.5c which was a resistance formed in March as price tried to advance higher then.

SPH: A friend asked me if he should sell his SPH shares today. Let's look at the chart.  With today's expansion in volume on a white candle day as price hit a high of $3.88 before closing at $3.85, SPH looks like it might be able to go higher. MFI has been forming higher lows, suggesting rising demand. RSI has been rising as well.  The MACD is still in positive territory.  In short, SPH is seeing some underlying strength. $3.88 is the resistance to watch.  If it breaks convincingly, I see an eventual target price of $4.08. I would be happy to sell more of my remaining shares in SPH then.

Related post:

SPH: Reading the lines.

CapitaMalls Asia: Downtrend continues.

CapitaMalls Asia: I warned that the retest of trendline support on 25 Jun could turn treacherous. On 27 Jun, we looked "at the MFI which accounts for both price and volume. Here, we have a less optimistic picture as the MFI has clearly broken its uptrend. This suggests that demand has dropped and that more selling is underway.  This is a major difference from when the trendline support in question was tested twice before. In those earlier tests, the MFI was still uptrending strongly. Technically, the picture is weaker now."

Anyone who heeded the warning delivered by the MFI would have been spared some losses. Has the picture changed? Well, if anything, it has deteriorated. As price declined from the high of 23 Jun, volume has expanded. MACD has dipped into negative territory while all the momentum oscillators continue to decline. Momentum has turned negative. MFI suggests that demand is much reduced.  RSI suggests that the speed of decline has accelerated. OBV suggests ongoing distribution. Immediate resistance at $2.07 and the next support is at $2.00.

Related post:
CapitaMalls Asia: Weakening technicals.

STI: 2400 is still a real possibility.

It has been a while since I looked at the STI. Looking at it again today did not reveal anything alarming. Well, not alarming as in I did not see anything I did not expect to see.  The picture is still more negative than positive.

The MACD has been closing in on the signal line and is now set to do a bearish crossover. MFI, a measure of demand, has been in decline. RSI has also been in decline which suggests that the attempt to continue the longer term uptrend is sputtering.

Using the high of 15 April and the low of 25 May, if we draw some Fibo lines, it is interesting to see that the move up in the STI in recent sessions has met with resistance at the 38.2% line which is at 2,890.  This same resistance capped gains earlier in May.

If the STI is unable to break resistance at 2,890 this week, we would probably see the formation of a lower high on the weekly chart.  Two more sessions to go.  This has implications where chart patterns are concerned.  We might see the formation of a head and shoulders pattern which would be very bearish.

The rising 200dMA at 2,800 approximates the 61.8% Fibo line. This might give the STI some bounce but the bias is for a move downwards if resistance at 2,890 is not taken out convincingly. 

Breaking the previous low at 2,648 would probably see the STI sinking to the eventual target of 2,400 which, incidentally, is not a number plucked from the air but is provided by the 161.8% Fibo line.

Related post:
STI: Falling through the 200dMA.

NOL: Downtrend.

After hitting a high of $2.35 on 15 April, NOL was in a downtrend which was broken on 16 Jun on relatively high volume. Price hit a high of $2.13 on 21 Jun while forming an inverted white hammer, a reversal signal. This reversal signal was promptly confirmed in the next session. Forming a high of $2.13 on 21 Jun created a bearish picture because it was a lower high compared to the high of 13 May at $2.18.  This was a warning sign.

The MACD histogram turned red on 22 Jun while the RSI and OBV turned down the same day. Price has broken through various supports since then.  Price is currently resisted by the merged 20d and 100d MAs at $1.97.  With the 50dMA declining just above these merged MAs, it would be a difficult resistance to overcome without a buy up on massive volume.  Any upside could be resisted by the 50dMA just a few cents higher at $2.00. It seems that there are more sellers too if we notice how volume has increased as price declined since 21 Jun.  This is confirmed by the lower highs on the OBV which suggests that distribution activity has increased.

The MACD has formed a bearish crossover with the signal line and a retest of the flattening 200dMA which is currently at $1.83 seems likely.  As a support, the 200dMA was breached on three consecutive days in late May. So, this makes it somewhat unreliable and it is, therefore, a very important support to watch now.  If it manages to hold up, we would have a higher low formed.  A symmetrical triangle could then be in the works.  If the 200dMA support breaks, we could see the previous low of $1.75 tested.

Given the bearish technicals, I would sell at resistance at $1.97 if I have the chance to do so. If luck is on my side, I might even be able to sell at $2.00 on a possible whipsaw. Prices do not go down in a straight line and there could be little bumps up along the way.  So, a retest of the 100dMA as resistance again is possible. Of course, it might not be at $1.97 then. We want to sell at resistance and buy at supports.  Use the prevailing trend as a guide. Good luck.