The Singapore stock market headed south again on Thursday, one session after ending the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost 60 points or 1.9 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,085-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with bargain hunting expected after heavy losses in the previous session. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board – especially the financials, properties and industrials.
For the day, the index retreated 44.47 points or 1.42 percent to finish at 3,086.97 after trading between 3,083.16 and 3,114.30. Volume was 1.79 billion shares worth 1.48 billion Singapore dollars. There were 402 decliners and 150 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT fell 1.28 percent, while CapitaLand dropped 1.49 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust skidded 1.88 percent, City Developments declined 1.70 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.61 percent, Dairy Farm International gave away 0.88 percent, DBS Group surrendered 1.64 percent, Genting Singapore retreated 1.84 percent, Keppel Corp lost 1.33 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust tumbled 1.90 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust weakened 1.43 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation slipped 1.02 percent, SATS eased 0.25 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 2.04 percent, Singapore Airlines dipped 1.20 percent, Singapore Exchange dropped 0.65 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plummeted 2.53 percent, SingTel slid 1.25 percent, Thai Beverage shed 1.47 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 1.53 percent, Wilmar International plunged 2.52 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was down 0.69 percent and Singapore Press Holdings was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is uncertain as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow lost 66.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 34,894.12, while the NASDAQ added 15.87 points or 0.11 percent to end at 14,541 and the S&P rose 5.5 points or 0.13 percent to close at 4,405.80.
The initial downside move on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, which note the increased possibility the central bank’s asset purchase program may be scaled back before the end of the year.
Potentially adding evidence to Fed officials’ view that the economy is close to the goal of maximum employment, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing initial jobless claims fell to a new pandemic-era low last week.
Bargain hunting helped to lift the markets as the session progressed.
Crude oil futures fell for a sixth straight session Thursday on worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed a surprise build in gasoline inventories and continued spikes in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate futures for September ended down $1.77 or 2.7 percent at $63.60 a barrel, a three-month low.
Market Analysis
Continued Consolidation Called For Singapore Stock Market
2021-08-20 00:00:06
