Singapore Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Friday

The Singapore stock market has moved lower in two consecutive trading days, sinking more than 10 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,190-point plateau although it’s expected to find support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher with projected upbeat earnings news offset by sinking crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and industrial issues, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 9.58 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 3,188.50 after trading between 3,183.10 and 3,206.78. Volume was 1.9 billion shares worth 964.14 billion Singapore dollars. There were 240 decliners and 236 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT advanced 0.66 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Mapletree Commercial Trust both added 0.47 percent, City Developments and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both retreated 0.67 percent, Dairy Farm International tanked 1.10 percent, DBS Group lost 0.32 percent, Genting Singapore plunged 1.27 percent, Hongkong Land spiked 1.18 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 0.73 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.50 percent, SembCorp Industries sank 0.51 percent, Singapore Airlines plummeted 2.60 percent, Singapore Exchange tumbled 0.93 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.26 percent, SingTel gained 0.39 percent, Thai Beverage jumped 0.71 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.19 percent, Wilmar International climbed 0.69 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, SATS, UOL Group, Singapore Press Holdings, Comfort DelGro and CapitaLand were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street again is mixed as the major averages opened slightly lower on Thursday. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ quickly climbed into the green and finished that way, but the Dow remained slightly mired in negative territory all day.

The Dow eased 6.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 35,603.08, while the NASDAQ jumped 94.02 points or 0.62 percent to close at 15,215.70 and the S&P 500 rose 13.59 points or 0.30 percent to end at 4,549.78.

The continued strength on Wall Street came the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rebounded more than expected in September.

Upbeat earnings news also contributed to the continued advance, thanks to the likes of Tesla (TSLA) and HP Inc. (HPQ). Meanwhile, a steep drop by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) weighed on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 9.6 percent after reporting weaker than expected Q3 revenues.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by a forecast that U.S. weather this winter will likely be warmer than average. Profit taking after recent strong gains and lower coal and natural gas prices also contributed to oil’s decrease. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $0.92 or 1.1 percent at $82.50 a barrel.