The Singapore stock market on Friday snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 50 points or 2 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 2,530-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with optimism for stimulus tempered by weakness from the oil markets. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the trusts and properties, while the financials came in mixed.
For the day, the index slipped 10.15 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 2,532.96 after trading between 2,532.41 and 2,547.97. Volume was 1.07 billion shares worth 844.02 million Singapore dollars. There were 212 decliners and 173 gainers.
Among the actives, SATS plummeted 1.59 percent, while Hongkong Land plunged 1.57 percent, Dairy Farm International, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Mapletree Commercial Trust all tanked 1.52 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust tumbled 1.19 percent, Singapore Airlines skidded 1.13 percent, CapitaLand retreated 1.07 percent, Singapore Press Holdings jumped 0.96 percent, SingTel climbed 0.93 percent, Ascendas REIT declined 0.93 percent, Thai beverage surrendered 0.84 percent, Genting Singapore sank 0.71 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.68 percent, Wilmar International added 0.66 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust shed 0.51 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust lost 0.49 percent, Keppel Corp gained 0.45 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.41 percent, Singapore Exchange slid 0.33 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.28 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dipped 0.23 percent, DBS Group collected 0.14 percent and SembCorp Industries was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session to finish higher for the third straight day.
The Dow climbed 161.40 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 28,586.90, while the NASDAQ spiked 158.94 points or 1.39 percent to end at 11,579.94 and the S&P 500 jumped 30.30 points or 0.88 percent to close at 3,477.13. For the week, the Dow surged 3.8 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 4.6 percent and the S&P gained 3.3 percent.
Continued optimism about a new stimulus bill contributed to the strength on Wall Street, as traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Washington. The major averages spiked after President Donald Trump suggested he was once again in favor of a broad relief package.
Trump's comments came amid reports that the White House was planning to offer a $1.8 trillion package, which is up from the administration's previous $1.6 trillion proposal but still below the $2.2 trillion bill passed by House Democrats.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill later said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had "returned to the table with a proposal that attempted to address some of the concerns Democrats have."
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday as traders made largely cautious moves, weighing demand and supply positions in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November were lower by $0.59 or 1.4 percent at $40.60 a barrel.
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