On Thursday, the Singapore stock market concluded a five-day losing streak, during which it fell by nearly 115 points, or 3 percent. The Straits Times Index now hovers just above the 3,800-point level, although it may encounter renewed selling pressure on Friday.
The global outlook for Asian markets appears weak, with oil and technology sectors expected to lead a decline. European markets closed higher, while U.S. markets ended lower, suggesting that Asian markets might follow the latter's trend.
The Straits Times Index saw a modest increase on Thursday, supported by gains in industrials, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and financial stocks, although property stocks were softer.
On Thursday, the index rose by 28.55 points, or 0.76 percent, closing at 3,801.13, after trading within a range of 3,792.40 and 3,818.73.
Active performers included CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which surged 2.09 percent. In contrast, CapitaLand Investment dipped 0.40 percent and City Developments slipped 0.20 percent. Comfort DelGro fell 0.71 percent, while DBS Group rose 0.64 percent. Genting Singapore declined by 1.33 percent, whereas Keppel DC REIT soared 2.34 percent. Other notable movers were Keppel Ltd, which gained 0.59 percent, and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, which advanced 1.68 percent. Smaller gains were seen in Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Seatrium Limited, and others, while some stocks like Emperador, Hongkong Land, SATS, and UOL Group remained unchanged.
Wall Street delivered a negative lead, with major averages beginning Thursday slightly higher but soon turning negative and remaining mostly in the red throughout the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 68.42 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 43,153.13. The NASDAQ dropped 172.95 points, or 0.89 percent, to settle at 19,338.29, while the S&P 500 slipped 12.57 points, or 0.21 percent, to conclude at 5,937.34.
The erratic trading on Wall Street was a result of traders reassessing the market's short-term trajectory following Wednesday's rally, which provided the largest daily percentage gains in over two months. Additionally, traders were analyzing a host of U.S. economic data, such as weekly jobless claims, retail sales, and import prices. This data met expectations and supported optimism that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates within the first half of this year.
Oil prices fell significantly on Thursday after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, approved by the UN Security Council. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February declined by $1.36, or 1.7 percent, settling at $78.68 per barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore is expected to release its December non-oil domestic export data later this morning. In November, these exports rose by 14.7 percent month-on-month and 3.4 percent year-on-year, resulting in a trade surplus of SGD6.520 billion.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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