Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open To The Downside On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 45 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,860-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on inflation and tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly higher again on Friday following gains from the financials and trusts, while the properties were mixed and the industrials were soft.

For the day, the index improved 31.00 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 3,861.42 after trading between 3,829.33 and 3,863.85.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gained 0.51 percent, while CapitaLand Investment soared 1.62 percent, City Developments added 0.60 percent, Comfort DelGro retreated 1.45 percent, DBS Group advanced 0.81 percent, DFI Retail dropped 0.84 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.67 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.68 percent, Keppel DC REIT gathered 0.46 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust climbed 0.84 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rose 0.47 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.35 percent, SATS rallied 0.92 percent, Seatrium Limited slumped 0.92 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering surged 3.52 percent, SingTel spiked 1.55 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 0.96 percent, Venture Corporation dipped 0.16 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.31 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding lost 0.33 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, SembCorp Industries, Emperador, Keppel Ltd and Mapletree Logistics Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly slipped under water and finished the session with sizeable losses.

The Dow stumbled 444.20 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 44,303.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 268.60 points or 1.36 percent to close at 19,523.40 and the S&P 500 sank 57.58 points or 0.95 percent to end at 6,025.99. For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent, while the Dow and the NASDAQ both fell 0.5 percent.

The weakness that emerged early in the session came after the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated in February amid a surge by year-ahead inflation expectations.

Stocks saw further downside after President Donald Trump said he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries this week, with the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports equal to the rates imposed on American exports.

Traders were also reacting to mixed U.S. jobs data, with a closely watched Labor Department report showing weaker than expected job growth in January but an unexpected decrease in the unemployment rate.

Oil prices climbed higher on Friday after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports, although a stronger dollar limited oil's gains. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.39 or 0.5 percent at $71.00 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 2 percent in the week.