The Singapore stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slipping almost 40 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,230-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns of economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets ended mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index lost 12.74 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,229.55 after trading between 3,219.92 and 3,247.45.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.49 percent, CapitaLand Investment skidded 1.06 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.83 percent, DBS Group retreated 1.64 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 1.82 percent, Hongkong Land lost 0.23 percent, Keppel Corp perked 0.16 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rallied 0.59 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.58 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.16 percent, SATS jumped 0.75 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 1.72 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.55 percent, SingTel gained 0.39 percent, Thai Beverage plunged 2.44 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.50 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.51 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 2.74 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Emperador, Mapletree Industrial Trust and City Developments were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and only the NASDAQ was able to peek slightly into the green by the end of the session.
The Dow tumbled 221.82 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 33,309.51, while the NASDAQ rose 22.07 points or 0.18 percent to close at 12,328.51 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.02 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,130.62.
The weakness on Wall Street came among disappointing earnings news from the likes of Disney (DIS), while renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector also weighed.
In economic news, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose less than expected, adding to optimism the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month.
The Labor Department also said that initial jobless claims climbed to their highest level in well over a year last week.
Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, while a firm dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $70.87 a barrel.
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