Singapore Shares Tipped To Open To The Downside On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 60 points or 1.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,925-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with retail and technology stocks likely to fall under pressure. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index fell 6.53 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 3,927.51 after trading between 3,916.13 and 3,942.36.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 1.02 percent, while CapitaLand Investment retreated 1.61 percent, City Developments slid 0.40 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.73 percent, DBS Group rose 0.09 percent, Hongkong Land added 0.23 percent, Keppel DC REIT fell 0.47 percent, Keppel Ltd lost 0.58 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust rallied 0.83 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.73 percent, SATS shed 0.60 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.96 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 1.60 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.78 percent, Wilmar International jumped 0.94 percent, Yangzijiang Financial surged 5.61 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 3.12 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Emperador, Genting Singapore, SingTel and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 450,94 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 44,176.65, while the NASDAQ stumbled 93.89 points or 0.47 percent to close at 19,962.36 and the S&P 500 sank 26.63 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,117.52.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), which came under pressure after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.

Traders may also have been looking to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.

On the economic front, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, as supply disruptions in Russia and drop in gasoline and distillate fuel stocks supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures closed higher by $32 or 0.44 percent at $72.57 a barrel.