The Singapore stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 5 points or 0.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits right on the 3,300-point plateau and it’s likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with profit taking among the technology stocks likely to cap any upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index dipped 4.00 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 3,300.00 after trading between 3,288.94 and 3,304.97.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 1.03 percent, while CapitaLand Investment lost 0.38 percent, City Developments added 0.38 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.57 percent, Hongkong Land gained 0.31 percent, Keppel Ltd tumbled 1.66 1.66 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust retreated 1.63 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust skidded 0.75 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.21 percent, SATS fell 0.35 percent, Seatrium Limited surged 3.33 percent, SembCorp Industries stumbled 1.19 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering sank 0.50 percent, SingTel rallied 1.15 percent, Thai Beverage declined 1.06 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.47 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Wilmar International, Comfort DelGro, DBS Group, Emperador, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Keppel DC REIT and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher, but the NASDAQ and S&P 500 turned lower and finished that way – while the Dow ended in the green.
The Dow rallied 299.90 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 39,134.76, while the NASDAQ stumbled 140.64 points or 0.79 percent to close at 17,721.59 and the S&P sank 13.86 points or 0.25 percent to end at 5,473.17.
While the early strength on Wall Street came amid a continued advanced by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), the subsequent downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 was also led by a significant pullback by the AI darling and market leader.
The downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P may also have reflected profit taking after the indexes reached new record intraday highs, with the S&P 500 turning lower after climbing above 5,500 for the first time.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop in new U.S. residential construction in May.
Crude oil prices advanced on Thursday after data showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell slightly more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.60 at $82.17 a barrel. — RTT News
