Singapore Shares May Run Out Of Steam On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 25 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,270-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with oil and technology shares likely to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the industrial companies, while the financials and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 15.92 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 4,269.70 after trading between 4,259.55 and 4,277.39.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT and City Developments both climbed 0.74 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust jumped 0.88 percent, CapitaLand Investment and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust both advanced 0.73 percent, DBS Group collected 0.38 percent, DFI Retail Group accelerated 1.92 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.69 percent, Keppel DC REIT rallied 1.29 percent, Keppel Ltd surged 3.18 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust improved 0.49 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust strengthened 0.83 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.06 percent, SATS fell 0.30 percent, Seatrium Limited soared 2.18 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.66 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.26 percent, Thai Beverage slumped 1.08 percent, United Overseas Bank lost 0.31 percent, UOL Group dipped 0.13 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 1.94 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shed 0.34 percent and Comfort DelGro, Hongkong Land, SingTel and Wilmar International were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow dropped 92.02 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 45,544.88, while the NASDAQ tumbled 249.65 points or 1.15 percent to end at 21,455.55 and the S&P 500 sank 41.60 points or 0.64 percent to close at 6,420.26. For the week, the S&P 500 eased 0.1 percent and the Dow and NASDAQ both dipped 0.2 percent.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets.

Meanwhile, traders seemingly shrugged off a typically closely watched Commerce Department report showing U.S. consumer prices increased in line with estimates in July.

While the data increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates, a September rate cut may already have been priced into the markets. CME Group's FedWatch is currently indicating an 87.1 percent chance that the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point at its next monetary policy meeting.

Crude oil prices fell Friday on concerns on overproduction concerns as OPEC recently agreed to increase crude production by 547,000 barrels per day in September. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $0.60 or 0.93 percent at $64.00 per barrel.