(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,345-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns for the outlook for interest rates and the global economy. The European and U.S. markets were solidly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the property stocks and a mixed picture from the financials and industrials.
For the day, the index dipped 5.70 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 3,343.57 after trading between 3,338.61 and 3,373.15. Volume was 2.04 billion shares worth 1.30 billion ringgit. There were 252 gainers and 224 decliners.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 0.87 percent, while CapitaLand Investment plummeted 3.16 percent, City Developments rallied 1.99 percent, Dairy Farm International soared 2.94 percent, DBS Group tumbled 1.32 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.62 percent, Hongkong Land spiked 2.11 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 0.88 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust added 0.53 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Jardine Cycle both declined 1.17 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.24 percent, SATS skidded 1.10 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.49 percent, Thai Beverage surged 3.70 percent, United Overseas Bank retreated 1.12 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.08 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Ascendas REIT, SembCorp Industries, Singapore Exchange, SingTel and Comfort DelGro all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened under pressure and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, finishing deep in the red.
The Dow plummeted 1,063 points or 3.12 percent to finish at 32,997.97, while the NASDAQ plunged 647.16 points or 4.99 percent to close at 12,317.16 and the S&P 500 tumbled 153.30 points or 3.56 percent to end at 4,146.87.
The sell-off on Wall Street came as traders cashed in on the rally that followed the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, which was less hawkish than some had feared.
But concerns about higher rates, inflation, the economic outlook and the ongoing war in Ukraine remain, contributing to the sharp pullback on Wall Street. A sharp increase in treasury yields also weighed as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note hit to its highest levels in three years.
Traders were also looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later today.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, benefitting from the European Union proposal to impose sanctions on Russian oil, although prices pared some gains as the dollar rebounded on safe haven buying. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.45 or 0.4 percent at $108.26 a barrel.
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