The Singapore stock market on Wednesday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,180-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on rising oil prices and optimism on the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index slid 27.36 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 3,180.00 after trading between 3,175.92 and 3,207.91. Volume was 1.31 billion shares worth 1.09 billion Singapore dollars. There were 265 decliners and 240 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT surrendered 0.96 percent, while CapitaLand added 0.49 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dipped 0.46 percent, City Developments plummeted 1.49 percent, Comfort DelGro and Genting Singapore both lost 0.62 percent, Dairy Farm International declined 1.12 percent, DBS Group skidded 1.26 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.55 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust sank 0.93 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plunged 1.40 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation tanked 1.36 percent, SATS slid 0.50 percent, Singapore Airlines slipped 0.39 percent, Singapore Exchange was down 0.36 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering retreated 1.23 percent, SingTel dropped 0.86 percent, United Overseas Bank shed 0.63 percent, Wilmar International eased 0.22 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.32 percent and Singapore Press Holdings, SembCorp Industries and Thai Beverage were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street has been mixed all week and Wednesday was no exception. All three of the major averages opened to the upside and the Dow and S&P stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs; the NASDAQ quickly headed south and finished in the red.
The Dow jumped 220.30 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 35,484.97, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.95 points or 0.16 percent to close at 14,765.13 and the S&P rose 10.95 points or 0.25 percent to end at 4,447.70.
The mixed performance came after the Labor Department’s highly anticipated inflation reading was not bad as some had feared, slowing to 0.5 percent from 0.9 percent in June – suggesting that the central bank may not be in a hurry to scale back stimulus.
The recent resurgence in coronavirus cases may also weigh on the economy, leading the Fed to put off tapering plans and allowing stocks to continue to climb to record highs.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, recovering well after an early setback, after the Biden administration said it would not ask U.S. oil producers to hike output. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.96 or 1.4 percent at $69.25 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Rebound Expected For Singapore Stock Market
2021-08-12 00:00:29
