The Singapore stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had improved more than 45 points or 1.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,150-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asianmarketsis soft ahead of key U.S. employment data, which will affect the outlook for interest rates and the likelihood of recession. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the properties, gains from the industrials and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index dipped 1.67 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 3,151.56 after trading between 3,150.35 and 3,168.40. Volume was 1.33 billion shares worth 980.75 million Singapore dollars. There were 256 gainers and 217 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dipped 0.37 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.51 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.69 percent, City Developments fell 0.38 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.78 percent, DBS Group gained 0.51 percent, Emperador slumped 1.01 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.43 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.29 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust declined 1.12 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust jumped 1.27 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.42 percent, SATS spiked 1.36 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.66 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.57 percent, SingTel retreated 1.18 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 0.84 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.60 percent, Wilmar International climbed 0.80 percent, Yangzijiang Financial rallied 1.35 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 5.77 percent and Genting Singapore and Mapletree Industrial Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly turned well into the red and remained that way for the rest of the session.
The Dow dropped 346.93 points or 1.15 percent to finish at 29,926.94, while the NASDAQ sank 75.33 points or 0.68 percent to end at 11,073.31 and the S&P 500 declined 38.76 points or 1.02 percent to close at 3,744.52.
The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to express concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the impact higher rates will have on theeconomy.
A continued rebound by treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note extending the sharp upward move seen on Wednesday.
Traders were also looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report later today.
Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, rising for a fourth straight session after OPEC announced on Wednesday that it would cut production by 2 million barrels per day from November, while a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.69 or 0.8 percent at $88.45 a barrel.