Singapore Stock Market Poised To Halt Losing Streak

The Singapore stock market had finished lower in four straight sessions, plummeting almost 150 points or 4.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,055-point plateau although it’s expected to find support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected especially from the technology and oil stocks. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index tumbled 68.24 points or 2.18 percent to finish at 3,055.02 after trading between 3,023.95 and 3,121.26. Volume was 3.52 billion shares worth 3.22 billion Singapore dollars. There were 467 decliners and 127 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dipped 1.71 percent, while CapitaLand slipped 1.68 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust tanked 3.86 percent, City Developments declined 3.20 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 3.07 percent, Dairy Farm International was down 0.69 percent, DBS Group shed 0.71 percent, Genting Singapore surrendered 3.09 percent, Keppel Corp and UOL Group both dropped 2.85 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust fell 2.46 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust weakened 1.55 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 2.58 percent, SATS plunged 3.91 percent, SembCorp Industries plummeted 5.45 percent, Singapore Airlines crashed 5.66 percent, Singapore Exchange added 0.50 percent, Singapore Press Holdings sank 1.25 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering eased 0.27 percent, SingTel tumbled 3.73 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 3.60 percent, United Overseas Bank shed 2.76 percent, Wilmar International slid 1.87 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 3.42 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened well into the green on Friday and picked up steam as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 360.73 points or 1.06 percent, while the NASDAQ surged 304.98 points or 2.32 percent to end at 13,429.98 and the S&P 500 spiked 61.35 points or 1.49 percent to close at 4,173.85. For the week, the Dow shed 1.1 percent, the NASDAQ sank 2.3 percent and the S&P fell 1.4 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the sell-off seen earlier in the week.

A Commerce Department report showing retail sales were virtually unchanged in April after soaring by an upwardly revised 10.7 percent in March may also have eased concerns about the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy.

Also, the Federal Reserve said industrial output in the U.S. increased less than expected in April, while the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday, due largely to short covering after the setback in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended up by $1.55 or 2.4 percent at $65.37 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 0.7 percent for the week.

Closer to home, Singapore will see April figures for non-oil exports later this morning; in March, exports were up 1.2 percent on month and 12.1 percent on year, with a trade surplus of SGD5.61 billion.