The Singapore stock market has finished lower in back-to-back trading days, slipping more than 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,140-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on sinking crude oil prices and renewed Covid-19 concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and property stocks.
For the day, the index lost 13.17 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 3,139.98 after trading between 3,132.81 and 3,156.14. Volume was 1.42 billion shares worth 993.15 million Singapore dollars. There were 241 decliners and 238 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.33 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, DBS Group, SembCorp Industries and Mapletree Commercial Trust all sank 0.47 percent, City Developments surrendered 0.58 percent, Comfort DelGro plummeted 1.25 percent, Dairy Farm International and Singapore Airlines both plunged 1.21 percent, Genting Singapore declined 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Wilmar International both skidded 0.66 percent, SATS tumbled 0.76 percent, Singapore Exchange shed 0.27 percent, Singapore Press Holdings surged 1.69 percent, SingTel tanked 0.87 percent, Thai Beverage jumped 0.75 percent, United Overseas Bank retreated 0.65 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding climbed 0.73 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust, Keppel Corp, Singapore Technologies Engineering and CapitaLand were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is something of a dichotomy as stocks opened lower on Thursday. The NASDAQ and S&P stayed in the red all day, but the Dow bounced back and forth across the unchanged line and managed a slightly higher finish.
The Dow added 53.79 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 34,987.02, while the NASDAQ sank 101.82 points or 0.70 percent to end at 14,543.13 and the S&P 500 fell 14.27 points or 0.33 percent to close at 4,360.03.
The weakness in the broader markets partly reflected concerns that some central banks around the world are considering tightening monetary policy much sooner than the Federal Reserve.
In economic news, the Federal Reserve said industrial production increased less than expected in June. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased in line with estimates last week.
Also, the Labor Department said U.S. import prices increased as expected last month, while separate reports from the New York Federal Reserve and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed mixed readings on the pace of growth in manufacturing activity in the two regions.
Crude oil prices declined sharply Thursday, sending the most active crude futures contracts to their lowest close in nearly a month amid rising concerns about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down by $1.48 or 2 percent at $71.65 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 18.
Closer to home, Singapore will provide June figures for non-oil exports later this morning; in May, exports were down 0.1 percent on month and up 8.8 percent on year and the trade surplus was at SGD5.754 billion.
Market Analysis
Singapore Bourse May Extend Losing Streak
2021-07-16 00:03:59
