The Singapore stock market has declined in four consecutive sessions, dropping nearly 100 points or 2.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just below the 3,720-point level, though it may gain traction on Monday. On Friday, the STI ended sharply lower due to losses in financial shares, property stocks, and industrial issues. It slumped 42.95 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 3,719.93 after reaching as high as 3,751.45.
Performance of Key Stocks
Among the active stocks, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust lost 0.52 percent, CapitaLand Investment fell 0.39 percent, City Developments and Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.79 percent, while Comfort DelGro rallied 1.39 percent. DBS Group surrendered 1.34 percent, DFI Retail Group stumbled 1.30 percent, and many other companies had different changes in their share prices. Some remained unchanged like Emperador, Genting Singapore, Mapletree Industrial Trust, and Frasers Centrepoint Trust.
Influence of Global Markets
The global forecast for Asian markets is cautiously optimistic based on an improved interest rate outlook. European markets were down while U.S. bourses were up, and Asian markets are expected to follow the U.S. lead. On Wall Street, there was a positive turn on Friday. The Dow rallied 498.06 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 42,840.26, the NASDAQ jumped 199.80 points or 1.03 percent to close at 19,572.60, and the S&P 500 gained 63.77 points or 1.09 percent to end at 5,930.85. However, for the week, the Dow plunged 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.0 percent, and the NASDAQ slumped 1.8 percent. The rally on Wall Street followed the release of the Commerce Department’s report on personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which led traders to buy stocks after a mid-week sell-off.
Oil Futures Situation
Oil futures settled higher on Friday as the dollar came off two-year highs after soft PCE readings eased concerns about interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures perked $0.08 or about 0.1 percent to $69.46 a barrel, though they shed 2.5 percent over the week.
Domestic Data to Watch
Closer to home, Singapore will release November numbers for consumer prices. In October, overall inflation was down 0.3 percent on month and up 1.4 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 2.1 percent.
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