The Singapore stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, dropping almost 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,185-point plateau although it's expected to stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian is positive, with technology stocks expected to lead the way. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index fell 9.36 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 3,186.40 after trading between 3,184.54 and 3,201.83. Volume was 1.63 billion shares worth 1.18 billion Singapore dollars. There were 230 gainers and 230 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT skidded 0.65 percent, while CapitaLand shed 0.26 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.45 percent, City Developments plunged 1.09 percent, DBS Group sank 0.45 percent, Keppel Corp dropped 0.36 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.25 percent, SATS and United Overseas Bank both fell 0.23 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 0.51 percent, Singapore Airlines and Wilmar International both eased 0.18 percent, Singapore Exchange spiked 0.70 percent, Singapore Press Holdings surged 1.14 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering tumbled 0.76 percent, SingTel tanked 0.81 percent, Thai Beverage retreated 0.64 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Comfort DelGro, Dairy Farm International, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Genting Singapore all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved mostly higher on Thursday - especially the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
The Dow added 57.31 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 33,503.57, while the NASDAQ jumped 140.47 points or 1.03 percent to end at 13,829.31 and the S&P 500 gained 17.22 points or 0.42 percent to close at 4,097.17.
The strength among tech stocks came following the Federal Reserve's repeated assurances that monetary policy is likely to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
Stocks saw continued strength following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks, which said the economic recovery remains uneven and incomplete and that further coronavirus outbreaks could slow the pace of the recovery.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased last week.
Crude oil prices eased on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases and lockdown measures in several countries. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May dipped $0.17 or 0.3 percent at $59.60 a barrel.
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