Singapore Shares May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

The Singapore stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than a dozen points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,150-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on a deteriorating outlook for interest rate cuts. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following mixed pictures from the financials, properties and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 2.97 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,153.01 after trading between 3,141.75 and 3,162.41.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust both jumped 1.39 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust surged 2.03 percent, CapitaLand Investment lost 0.34 percent, City Developments dropped 0.65 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.72 percent, DBS Group rose 0.19 percent, Emperador and Genting Singapore both rallied 1.00 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.32 percent, Keppel Ltd gained 0.28 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 1.24 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.81 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.55 percent, SATS added 0.36 percent, Seatrium Limited and DFI Retail both plummeted 4.76 percent, SembCorp Industries shed 0.53 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was down 0.27 percent, SingTel skidded 0.83 percent, Wilmar International slumped 0.90 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.56 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding sank 0.59 percent and Keppel DC REIT and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower but accelerated to the downside after the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and statement.

The Dow stumbled 317.01 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 38,150.30, while the NASDAQ plummeted 345.88 points or 2.23 percent to close at 15,164.01 and the S&P 500 slumped 79.32 points or 1.61 percent to end at 4,845.65.

In the Fed’s highly anticipated monetary policy announcement, it maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent to support maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent.

However, the Fed also said it does not expect it will be appropriate to lower rates until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent – triggering a wave of selling in the markets.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector job growth in the U.S. slowed more than expected in January.

Oil prices slumped Wednesday, weighed down by data showing an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories last week, and concerns about the outlook for demand after data showed another contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $1.97 or 2.5 percent at $75.85 a barrel.