Losing Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, sinking almost 125 points or 4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,200-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly lower again on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index sank 16.83 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 3,196.75 after trading between 3,182.54 and 3,205.86.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT climbed 0.74 percent, while Comfort DelGro skidded 0.78 percent, DBS Group retreated 1.00 percent, Emperador tumbled 1.92 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.55 percent, Keppel Corp slumped 0.87 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust dropped 0.65 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust improved 0.61 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.49 percent, SATS added 0.39 percent, Seatrium Limited rallied 1.49 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 1.59 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.26 percent, SingTel fell 0.42 percent, Thai Beverage stumbled 1.74 percent, Wilmar International gained 0.28 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding advanced 0.58 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, City Developments, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 290.91 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 34,474.83, while the NASDAQ slumped 157.70 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13,316.93 and the S&P 500 sank 33.97 points or 0.77 percent to end at 4,370.36.

The weakness on Wall Street came as investors continue to digest Wednesday's Federal Reserve minutes, which suggest the central bank will hold interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its manufacturing index saw a big jump in August.

Crude oil futures were up on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak on news of stimulus measures from China's central bank. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.01 or 1.3 percent at $80.39 a barrel.