The Singapore stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one session after it had ended the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,180-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast is murky, with support from crude oil prices offset by weakness from technology stocks. The European and U.S. were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and property stocks, while the industrials were mixed.
For the day, the index slipped 8.51 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,179.39 after trading between 3,174.60 and 3,189.45. Volume was 1.53 billion shares worth 1.01 billion Singapore dollars. There were 242 gainers and 230 decliners.
Among the actives, CapitaLand retreated 0.79 percent, while City Developments eased 0.12 percent, Comfort DelGro tanked 1.12 percent, Dairy Farm International shed 0.47 percent, DBS Group and SembCorp Industries both dropped 0.52 percent, Genting Singapore declined 0.55 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 0.91 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust tumbled 0.93 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.51 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.34 percent, SATS plunged 1.15 percent, Singapore Airlines sank 0.54 percent, Singapore Exchange surged 1.38 percent, Singapore Press Holdings spiked 1.08 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dipped 0.25 percent, SingTel added 0.41 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 0.66 percent, United Overseas Bank slid 0.31 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.36 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 0.78 percent and Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Jardine Cycle, Jardine Strategic and Hongkong Land all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks opened higher on Wednesday but turned lower as the day progressed, eventually finishing mixed.
The Dow added 53.62 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 33,730.89, while the NASDAQ tumbled 138.26 points or 0.99 percent to end at 13,857.84 and the S&P 500 fell 16.93 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,124.66.
The weakness that emerged in the broader markets seemed to coincide with a downturn by shares of Coinbase (COIN), which spiked early but then pulled back well below its debut price. The cryptocurrency exchange's direct listing on the NASDAQ was closely watched by investors and described as a watershed moment for the industry.
Traders also kept an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who told the Economic Club of Washington the central bank is likely to scale back its asset purchase program well before raising interest rates.
In economic news, the Fed released its Beige Book, which noted economic activity in the U.S. accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April. Also, the Labor Department noted another strong increase by import prices in March.
Crude oil futures spiked on Wednesday, buoyed by an upward revision in the global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May jumped $2.97 or 4.9 percent at $63.15 a barrel, the highest settlement in four weeks.
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