Losing Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 15 points or 0.3 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,575-point plateau and it may remain stuck in neutral on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continuing concerns over the viability of the technology companies. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index dipped 4.25 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 4,575.48 after trading between 4,545.77 and 4,580.11.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT lost 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.43 percent, CapitaLand Investment and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both climbed 1.15 percent, City Developments rallied 1.60 percent, Comfort DelGro stumbled 1.38 percent, DBS Group sank 0.45 percent, DFI Retail Group advanced 0.76 percent, Genting Singapore added 0.70 percent, Hongkong Land and UOL Group both vaulted 1.30 percent, Keppel Ltd rose 0.40 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.78 percent, SATS jumped 1.92 percent, Seatrium Limited gained 0.48 percent, SembCorp Industries eased 0.17 percent, SingTel dipped 0.22 percent, Thai Beverage slumped 1.06 percent, United Overseas Bank slipped 0.26 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.33 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Yangzijiang Financial, Keppel DC REIT, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day under water.

The Dow dropped 228.29 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 47,885.97, while the NASDAQ plunged 418.14 points or 1.81 percent to close at 22,693.32 and the S&P 500 sank 78.83 points or 1.16 percent to end at 6,721.43.

The sharp pullback seen as the day progressed came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.8 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Computer hardware stocks and networking stocks also slumped.

On the other hand, energy stocks turned in a strong performance as the price of crude oil rebounds from its lowest levels since early 2021.

The rebound by the price of crude oil comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.70 or 1.3 percent to end at $55.97 per barrel.