Losing Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking almost 80 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,290-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky after inconsistent U.S. employment data. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the properties and plantations were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index shed 11.67 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 3,292.39 after trading between 3,287.33 and 3,304.57.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT tumbled 1.81 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust retreated 1.00 percent, CapitaLand Investment lost 0.60 percent, City Developments and Keppel Corp both dropped 0.69 percent, Comfort DelGro slumped 0.79 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.45 percent, Genting Singapore fell 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land stumbled 1.67 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust sank 0.62 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust shed 0.61 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation skidded 0.77 percent, Seatrium Limited advanced 0.75 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.27 percent, SingTel rallied 1.24 percent, Thai Beverage declined 0.83 percent, Wilmar International eased 0.26 percent, Yangzijiang Financial skyrocketed 7.46 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 1.94 percent and SembCorp Industries, Mapletree Industrial Trust, SATS, Emperador and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday and spent most of the day in the green before late selling pressure saw them finish slightly under water.

The Dow dropped 150.28 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 35,0.65.62, while the NASDAQ lost 50.46 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,909.24 and the S&P 500 sank 23.86 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,478.03.

For the week, the Dow slumped 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.3 percent and the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent.

The volatility on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing that employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in July, although the jobless rate surprisingly ticked lower.

Following the mixed report, most economists still expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending recent gains amid tightening supply issues after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cut output through next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.27 at $82.82 a barrel.