Singapore Stock Market May Challenge Resistance At 3,200 Points

The Singapore stock market headed south again on Thursday, one session after ending the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,175-point plateau although it’s expected to tick higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from oil and technology stocks in particular. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index slipped 7.80 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 3,175.10 after trading between 3,168.13 and 3,192.61. Volume was 1.38 billion shares worth 1.3 billion Singapore dollars. There were 283 decliners and 217 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT slid 0.32 percent, while CapitaLand fell 0.49 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gained 0.47 percent, City Developments and Wilmar International both sank 0.88 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.63 percent, Dairy Farm International was up 0.28 percent, DBS Group advanced 0.72 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.62 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 1.98 percent, Keppel Corp lost 0.54 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust declined 0.92 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.24 percent, SATS retreated 1.00 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 1.46 percent, Singapore Airlines tumbled 1.18 percent, Singapore Exchange plummeted 5.98 percent, Singapore Press Holdings skidded 1.04 percent, SingTel rose 0.44 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 0.75 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding added 0.70 percent and Singapore Technologies Engineering, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Venture Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened firmly in the green and stayed there throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 271.58 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 35,064.25, while the NASDAQ climbed 114.58 points or 0.78 percent to close at 14,895.12 and the S&P 500 perked 26.44 points or 0.60 percent to end at 4,429.10.

The strength on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, sparking optimism ahead of the closely-watched monthly job report later today.

Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in June, reaching a new record high.

Crude oil prices rebounded Thursday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the three previous sessions. After plummeting by 7.8 percent so far this week, crude for September delivery advanced $0.94 or 1.4 percent to $69.09 a barrel.

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