The Singapore stock market has closed lower in four straight sessions, sinking almost 50 points or 1.4 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,105-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with a dose of volatility as bargain hunting may give the oversold bourses a lift – but the gains may evaporate as the day progresses. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financials and properties.
For the day, the index eased 2.47 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 3,105.00 after trading between 3,095.39 and 3,132.92. Volume was 1.4 billion shares worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 314 decliners and 199 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.38 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.52 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.47 percent, City Developments climbed 1.55 percent, Comfort DelGro strengthened 1.60 percent, DBS Group collected 0.36 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.63 percent, Hongkong Land declined 0.88 percent, Keppel Corp dropped 0.57 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.85 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust retreated 0.65 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation perked 0.09 percent, SATS plunged 2.01 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 1.62 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering lost 0.30 percent, SingTel added 0.40 percent, Thai Beverage jumped 1.77 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.04 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.27 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 3.31 percent and Emperador, Yangzijiang Financial, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up weak as the major averages saw considerable volatility on Tuesday, opening lower before rallying and then handing back the gains to finish mixed.
The Dow rose 36.31 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 29,239.19, while the NASDAQ tumbled 115.91 points or 1.10 percent to end at 10,426.19 and the S&P 500 sank 23.55 points or 0.65 percent to close at 3,588.84.
The early weakness on Wall Street was due to concerns about rising interest rates and the impact of high borrowing costs on corporate earnings and economic growth. A downward revision in the global economic growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund also weighed.
The markets rebounded when treasury yields ticked lower, but stocks faltered past mid-afternoon after the Bank of England said that its market intervention will be over soon.
Oil futures fell on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session on concerns about outlook for energy demand amid the rising possibility of a global recession. A surge in COVID-19 cases in China and fears of further monetary policy tightening also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.78 or 2 percent at $89.35 a barrel.
