The Singapore stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 65 points or 2 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,200-point plateau and it’s figured to be rangebound again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on encouraging corporate results and rising crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets mostly saw mild upside and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The STI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index eased 0.93 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,198.08 after trading between 3,191.89 and 3,213.33. Volume was 1.87 billion shares worth 1.10 billion Singapore dollars. There were 264 gainers and 219 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT spiked 1.00 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell 0.47 percent, City Developments added 0.54 percent, DBS Group rose 0.32 percent, Genting Singapore tumbled 1.25 percent, Keppel Corp sank 0.54 percent, SATS plunged 2.07 percent, Singapore Airlines retreated 1.82 percent, Singapore Exchange eased 0.21 percent, Singapore Press Holdings lost 0.50 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.51 percent, SingTel dipped 0.49 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 2.10 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.30 percent, Wilmar International tanked 1.36 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 0.71 percent and Dairy Farm International, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, SembCorp Industries, Comfort DelGro and CapitaLand were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday. The Dow and S&P 500 remained well in the green and finished that way, while the NASDAQ hugged the unchanged line and ended slightly in the red.
The Dow climbed 152.03 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 35,609.34, while the NASDAQ dipped 7.41 points or 0.05 percent to close at 15,121.68 and the S&P 500 rose 16.56 points or 0.37 percent to end at 4,536.19.
The continued strength on Wall Street came as traders reacted positively to another batch of largely upbeat corporate earnings news.
Traders largely shrugged off the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which noted the pace of U.S. economic growth has recently slowed due to supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and uncertainty around the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The Fed also said employment increased at a modest to moderate rate in recent weeks, as demand for workers was high, but labor growth was dampened by a low supply of workers.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while increased demand also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up by $0.98 or 1.2 percent at $83.42 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Little Movement Expected For Singapore Stock Market
2021-10-21 00:00:10
