Losses May Accelerate For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the eight-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 135 points or 4.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,020-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation following recent gains and rising treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished barely lower on Wednesday as losses from the properties were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index slid 3.08 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 3,022.80 after trading between 3,020.11 and 3,043.26. Volume was 964 million shares worth 856.5 million Singapore dollars. There were 315 decliners and 209 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT plummeted 2.65 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 1.63 percent, CapitaLand Investment tanked 1.85 percent, City Developments lost 0.67 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.79 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.08 percent, Emperador rallied 1.03 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 1.27 percent, Hongkong Land skidded 1.38 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.45 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tumbled 1.84 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust declined 1.78 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plunged 1.99 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.43 percent, SATS shed 1.10 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering surged 2.84 percent, SingTel sank 1.20 percent, United Overseas Bank rose 0.04 percent, Wilmar International climbed 0.85 percent, Yangzijiang Financial stumbled 1.41 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 1.72 percent and Thai Beverage and SembCorp Industries were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Wednesday, slipping into the red in afternoon trade and ending in negative territory.

The Dow shed 99.99 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 30,423.81, while the NASDAQ sank 91.89 points or 0.85 percent to end at 10,680.51 and the S&P 500 lost 24.82 points or 0.67 percent to close at 3,695.16.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strong gains on Monday and Tuesday. The major averages ended Tuesday’s trading well off their highs of the session, although the Dow still reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Lingering concerns about higher interest rates and the impact on the global economy also continued to weigh on the markets along with a jump in treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note moved sharply higher following a modest pullback on Tuesday, reaching its highest levels in 14 years.

Stocks regained some ground following the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts. The Beige Book said economic activity in the U.S. has expanded modestly since September, although conditions varied across industries and districts.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as data showed declines in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.73 or 3.3 percent at $85.55 a barrel.