Renewed Support Predicted For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Friday finally halted the winning streak that had reached 14 sessions and 250 points or 6.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,260-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the U.S. and the European Union ratified a trade agreement over the weekend. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index shed 11.99 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 4,261.06 after trading between 4,238.15 and 4,265.00.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT both lost 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.45 percent, CapitaLand Investment rallied 1.43 percent, City Developments soared 2.90 percent, Comfort DelGro surged 6.49 percent, DBS Group fell 0.30 percent, DFI Retail Group eased 0.28 percent, Genting Singapore retreated 1.32 percent, Keppel DC REIT spiked 2.65 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.52 percent, SATS slipped 0.29 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 1.53 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.11 percent, SingTel slumped 1.21 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 1.04 percent, United Overseas Bank dropped 0.56 percent, UOL Group advanced 0.86 percent, Wilmar International declined 1.31 percent, Yangzijiang Financial stumbled 2.08 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained 0.40 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Hongkong Land, Seatrium Limited and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and tracked mostly higher throughout the session, sending the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 208.02 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 44,901.92, while the NASDAQ added 50.32 points or 0.24 percent to close at 21,108.32 and the S&P 500 gained 25.29 points or 0.40 percent to end at 6,388.64.

The strength on Wall Street came on optimism that a number of trade deals will be worked out prior to President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for the extension of his "reciprocal tariffs."

With only a few days left, several trading partners are trying to reach an agreement with the U.S. to avoid high tariff imposition on their exports to the U.S. from August 1; the U.S. and the EU have since reached an agreement over the weekend.

Crude oil fell on Friday on reports that the U.S. might allow partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA to resume operations, sparking concerns of over-supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery closed, down $0.88 or 1.33 percent to $65.15 per barrel.