The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in consecutive trading days, although it has given up just 7 points or 0.2 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,145-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative after better than expected U.S. employment data raised grace concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are also tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished slightly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks, while the industrials offered support.
For the day, the index dipped 5.75 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,145.81 after trading between 3,138.97 and 3,165.06. Volume was 1.45 billion shares worth 973.75 million Singapore dollars. There were 256 decliners and 220 gainers.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dropped 0.51 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tanked 1.43 percent, City Developments climbed 0.64 percent, Comfort DelGro skidded 0.78 percent, DBS Group sank 0.36 percent, Keppel Corp jumped 1.43 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.57 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust tumbled 1.24 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plunged 1.87 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.08 percent, SATS slumped 1.00 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.33 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plummeted 2.57 percent, SingTel and Jardine Cycle both added 0.40 percent, Thai Beverage declined 0.85 percent, United Overseas Bank and UOL Group both rose 0.15 percent, Wilmar International retreated 0.80 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding skyrocketed 7.27 percent and Emperador, Genting Singapore, Hongkong Land, Yangzijiang Financial and Ascendas REIT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened deep in the red and only worsened as the day progressed.
The Down plunged 630.11 points or 2.11 percent to finish at 29,296.79, while the NASDAQ sank 289.14 points or 3.80 percent to end at 10,652.40 and the S&P 500 slumped 104.86 points or 2.80 percent to close at 3,639.66. For the week, the Dow surged 2.0 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 1.5 percent and the NASDAQ climbed 0.7 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report, which failed to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates by coming in stronger than economists had anticipated.
The unemployment rate matched its lowest level since just before Covid-19 lockdowns began to take effect in February 2020, which was also matched in July. Unemployment has not been lower in over 50 years.
Treasury yields advanced following the release of the report, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note moving higher for the third straight session.
Crude oil prices rose sharply Friday, continuing to find support from the OPEC decision last week to cut output by 2 million barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $4.19 or 4.7 percent at $92.64 a barrel, settling at a five-week high.