The Singapore stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 35 points or 1.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 2,555-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising coronavirus cases and fading optimism for stimulus. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses form the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index slid 12.06 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 2,555.59 after trading between 2,548.87 and 2,563.44. Volume was 1.53 billion shares worth 1.13 billion Singapore dollars. There were 228 decliners and 167 gainers.
Among the actives, Singapore Press Holdings plummeted 4.76 percent, while CapitaLand Mall Trust and Mapletree Commercial Trust both plunged 2.03 percent, Ascendas REIT tanked 1.81 percent, Singapore Airlines tumbled 1.41 percent, SingTel jumped 1.38 percent, Venture Corporation climbed 1.34 percent, Dairy Farm International advanced 1.33 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 1.32 percent, DBS Group retreated 1.25 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust declined 1.20 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surrendered 0.94 percent, Singapore Exchange added 0.87 percent, Thai Beverage sank 0.85 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.74 percent, SATS dropped 0.65 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.55 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding lost 0.51 percent, City Developments and United Overseas Bank both fell 0.25 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.22 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.11 percent and Genting Singapore, Comfort DelGro and CapitaLand were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks moved mostly lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session.
The Dow shed 165.81 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 28,514.00, while the NASDAQ dropped 95.17 points or 0.80 percent to end at 11,768.73 and the S&P 500 fell 23.26 points or 0.66 percent to close at 3,488.67.
The weakness on Wall Street followed comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, which offset recent optimism about a new stimulus bill. He said getting something done on a new stimulus bill before the election "would be difficult."
A negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news also weighed, with Bank of America (BAC) shares falling sharply after the financial giant reported Q3 earnings that beat estimates but missed on revenues. Wells Fargo (WFC) and UnitedHealth (UNH) also were key drags.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday despite concerns about the energy demand outlook amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases and fresh lockdown restrictions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up $0.84 or 2.1 percent at $41.04 a barrel.
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