Singapore Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Wednesday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 45 points or 1.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,130-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, support from the REITs and a mixed picture from the properties.

For the day, the index lost 17.08 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 3,128.69 after trading between 3,117.86 and 3,150.11. Volume was 1.09 billion shares worth 1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 231 gainers and 224 decliners.

Among the actives, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 2.34 percent, while DBS Group plummeted 1.92 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Trust spiked 1.91 percent, United Overseas Bank plunged 1.61 percent, Ascendas REIT jumped 1.39 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tanked 1.19 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust strengthened 1.10 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 0.92 percent, Wilmar International and Frasers Logistics both tumbled 0.73 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dropped 0.70 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.69 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.68 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.61 percent, SATS shed 0.50 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust gained 0.38 percent, SingTel fell 0.38 percent, CapitaLand Investment lost 0.26 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slid 0.24 percent, Singapore Exchange rose 0.21 percent, City Developments eased 0.13 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Thai Beverage and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, flirted with the unchanged line before finally ending with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 208.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,772.79, while the NASDAQ eased 17.15 points or 0.15 percent to end at 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.45 percent to close at 3,801.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The bigger than expected jump in inflation has solidified expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points later this month and increases the likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike in September.

Later in the day, the Fed released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, which noted U.S. economic activity has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will provide an advance estimate for Q2 gross domestic product later this morning; in the first quarter, GDP was up 0.7 percent on quarter and 3.7 percent on year.