Soft Start Seen For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had dropped almost 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 2,610-point plateau although it may see renewed selling pressure on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on disappointing economic data and sliding oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index jumped 17.82 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 2,612.35 after trading between 2,592.57 and 2,622.81. Volume was 1.38 billion shares worth 1.12 billion Singapore dollars. There were 271 gainers and 170 decliners.

Among the actives, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 4.93 percent, while Venture Corporation soared 3.13 percent, Ascendas REIT spiked 2.69 percent, Genting Singapore plunged 1.95 percent, SembCorp Industries accelerated 1.71 percent, Thai Beverage rallied 1.55 percent, Singapore Exchange jumped 1.33 percent, SingTel climbed 1.21 percent, Singapore Airlines gathered 1.10 percent, Hongkong Land skidded 1.02 percent, Wilmar International perked 0.93 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.92 percent, Singapore Press Holdings dropped 0.83 percent, CapitaLand added 0.71 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.59 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust gained 0.50 percent, SATS rose 0.35 percent, Keppel Corp increased 0.34 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation improved 0.22 percent, DBS Group was up 0.09 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as stocks showed a lack or direction on Thursday before moving sharply lower as the day progressed.

The Dow tumbled 353.51 points or 1.31 percent to finish at 26,652.33, while the NASDAQ plunged 244.71 percent or 2.29 percent to end at 10,461.42 and the S&P sank 40.36 points or 1.23 percent to close at 3,235.66.

The weakness on Wall Street followed the release of some disappointing U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased for the first time in sixteen weeks.

A separate report from the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators increased by less than expected in the month of June.

Earlier in the day, the negative sentiment generated was partly offset by news that Senate Republicans and White House negotiators have reached a fundamental agreement on a $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Crude oil futures settled lower Thursday, extending losses from the previous session amid rising concerns over excess supply in the market and the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled at $41.07 a barrel, losing $0.83 or 2 percent.

Closer to home, Singapore will see Q2 data for house prices and June figures for industrial production later today. In the previous three months, house prices shed 1.0 percent on quarter, while industrial production tumbled 16.5 percent on month and 7.4 percent on year in May.