(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, slumping almost 10 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,210-point plateau although it may find traction on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing concerns over the health of financial sectors. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the industrials and properties, while the financials were mixed.
For the day, the index dipped 6.36 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 3,212.64 after trading between 3,200.90 and 3,223.93.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT was down 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.52 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.14 percent, City Developments dropped 0.69 percent, Comfort DelGro and SingTel both retreated 0.83 percent, DBS Group lost 0.36 percent, Emperador declined 0.97 percent, Genting Singapore plummeted 1.82 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.24 percent, Keppel Corp stumbled 1.10 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust climbed 1.14 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust added 0.59 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.16 percent, SATS strengthened 1.19 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.44 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.28 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 0.78 percent, United Overseas Bank shed 0.44 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.72 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tanked 1.33 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding slumped 0.80 percent and Mapletree Industrial Trust was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages shook off early weakness, improving as the day progressed to finish solidly in the green.
The Dow climbed 132.33 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 32,237.53, while the NASDAQ added 36.56 points or 0.31 percent to close at 11,823.96 and the S&P 500 rose 22.27 points or 0.56 percent to end at 3,970.99.
For the week, the Dow jumped 1.2 percent, the NASDAQ climbed 1.7 percent and the S&P gained 1.4 percent.
The early weakness on Wall Street came on renewed concerns about the health of the banking sector. U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) moved sharply lower in early trading amid a spike by the German lender’s credit default swaps, while Credit Suisse (CS) and UBS Group (UBS) also came under pressure.
Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders felt the banking concerns may have been overdone amid optimism the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its tightening cycle.
Crude oil prices fell on Friday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns that rising interest rates might hurt growth and result in a drop in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.70 or 1 percent at $69.26 a barrel.
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