(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 95 points or 3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,100-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with optimism again limited by bond yield concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the property stocks and mixed performances from the financials and industrials.
For the day, the index slid 10.79 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 3,095.22 after trading between 3,089.44 and 3,115.25. Volume was 2.68 billion shares worth 1.51 billion Singapore dollars. There were 245 gainers and 237 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand surrendered 0.62 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.47 percent, City Developments tumbled 0.80 percent, Comfort DelGro tanked 1.18 percent, Dairy Farm International plunged 3.63 percent, DBS Group declined 0.74 percent, Keppel Corp retreated 0.76 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation slid 0.17 percent, SATS fell 0.23 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.55 percent, Singapore Airlines lost 0.38 percent, Singapore Exchange dropped 0.49 percent, Singapore Press Holdings jumped 0.74 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering skidded 0.78 percent, SingTel gained 0.42 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 3.95 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 020 percent, Wilmar international sank 0.56 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.56 percent and Genting Singapore, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Mapletree Logistics Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be a dichotomy as the Dow opened higher and remained so on its way to a record closing high. The NASDAQ and S&P opened in the red, although the latter inched into the green by the session’s close.
The Dow jumped 293.05 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 32,778.64, while the NASDAQ sank 78.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 13,319.86 and the S&P 500 rose 4.00 points or 0.10 percent to close at 3,943.34. For the week, the Dow spiked 4.1 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 3.1 percent and the S&P gained 2.6 percent.
The continued advance by the Dow came as traders expressed optimism about the economy reopening after President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. The vaccine news combined with the new $1.9 trillion stimulus package led to hopes for a return to normalcy after a year of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the economic optimism also led to a spike in treasury yields, with the ten-year yield surging above 1.6 percent to reach its highest levels in a year – which resulted in selling pressure for the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
In economic news, the University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment improved more than expected in March, hitting a one-year index high.
Crude oil prices fluctuated on Friday as traders remained optimistic about the outlook for energy demand but seemed reluctant to continue pushing oil prices higher. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery closed down $0.41 at $65.61 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will release Q4 data for unemployment later today with forecasts suggesting a jobless rate of 3.2 percent – down from 3.6 percent in the previous three months.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
