Win Streak May End For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost a dozen points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Straits Time Index now sits just above the 3,835-point plateau although the rally may stall on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to ongoing tariff concerns and their effect on the world economy. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the REITs, losses from the banks and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 4.45 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 3,837.52 after trading between 3,819.68 and 3,843.39.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust jumped 1.44 percent, while CapitaLand Investment climbed 1.16 percent, City Developments soared 3.04 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.71 percent, DBS Group slumped 0.81 percent, DFI Retail retreated 1.32 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.46 percent, Keppel DC REIT spiked 2.79 percent, Keppel Ltd advanced 1.06 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.81 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust increased 0.78 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.48 percent, Seatrium Limited accelerated 1.93 percent, SembCorp Industries collected 0.66 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering surged 3.65 percent, SingTel rallied 1.52 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.31 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding declined 1.29 percent and Emperador, Genting Singapore, Mapletree Industrial Trust, SATS and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened in the red and continued to track lower throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 537.36 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 40,813.57, while the NASDAQ dropped 345.44 points or 1.96 percent to close at 17.303.01 and the S&P 500 sank 77.78 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,521.52.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about President Donald Trump's trade policies after he suggested the U.S. would respond to the European Union's countermeasures with even more tariffs.

In economic news, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in February. Also, the Labor Department unexpectedly saw a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Oil prices fell on Thursday amid prospects of excess supply in the market, and on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $1.13 or 1.7 percent at $66.55 a barrel.