Singapore Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

The Singapore stock market has finished higher in six straight sessions, collecting almost 95 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,255-point plateau although it’s overdue for consolidation on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with oil and technology stocks likely to drag the markets to the downside. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the properties, weakness from the industrials and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 2.32 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 3,257.30 after trading between 3,247.39 and 3,262.37. Volume was 1.19 billion shares worth 943.95 million Singapore dollars. There were 233 gainers and 228 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rallied 0.70 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust soared 2.01 percent, City Developments spiked 1.59 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.72 percent, Dairy Farm International tumbled 1.38 percent, DBS Group eased 0.03 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 0.65 percent, Keppel Corp dropped 0.39 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust jumped 1.09 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 2.87 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.16 percent, SATS added 0.26 percent
Singapore Airlines advanced 0.40 percent, Singapore Exchange rose 0.10 percent, Singapore Press Holdings climbed 0.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.27 percent, SingTel retreated 0.82 percent, United Overseas Bank declined 0.88 percent, Wilmar International gained 0.24 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding skidded 0.74 percent and SembCorp Industries and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but gradually faded into the red as the day progressed.

The Dow dropped 176.70 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 36,113.62, while the NASDAQ plummeted 381.58 points or 2.51 percent to end at 14,806.58 and the S&P 500 sank 67.32 points or 1.42 percent to close at 4,659.03.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came as traders cashed in on recent strength in the tech sector. Tech stocks got off to a rocky start in the New Year amid concerns about higher interest rates but regained some ground earlier this week.

Traders were also digesting another reading on U.S. inflation, with a report from the Labor Department showing only a slight uptick in U.S. producer prices last month. A separate report from the Labor Department showed an increase in initial jobless claims last week.

Crude oil prices gave ground on Thursday as investors cashed in on recent gains that led to a two-month closing high. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery slid $0.52 or 0.6 percent to $82.12 a barrel after jumping $1.42 or 1.7 percent to $82.64 a barrel in the previous session.