The Singapore stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, sinking almost 60 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,160-point plateau and it's expected to open to continued selling pressure again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is cautious as the debt ceiling situation looks to enter the home stretch. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index dropped 28.76 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 3,158.80 after trading between 3,156.15 and 3,181.06.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.37 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 0.50 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 2.65 percent, City Developments lost 0.74 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.90 percent, DBS Group plunged 3.29 percent, Emperador climbed 0.98 percent, Frasers Logistics jumped 1.64 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.98 percent, Hongkong Land gathered 0.23 percent, Keppel Corp perked 0.16 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust fell 0.60 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust added 0.44 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.41 percent, SATS surrendered 1.90 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.40 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering declined 1.88 percent, SingTel slid 0.40 percent, Thai Beverage shed 0.88 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.39 percent, UOL Group plummeted 3.93 percent, Wilmar International and Jardine Cycle both slumped 1.01 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tanked 2.90 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 1.60 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened solidly lower on Wednesday, making back some of the ground as the day progressed but still ending firmly in the red.
The Dow dropped 134.51 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 32,908.27, while the NASDAQ shed 82.14 points or 0.63 percent to close at 12,935.29 and the S&P 500 slumped 25.69 points or 0.61 percent to end at 4,179.83.
The weakness on Wall Street came as traders kept a close eye on developments regarding the bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid potentially disastrous default. The debt bill, which advanced out of the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, is set to be voted on in the House any time now.
In economic news, the Labor Department said that job openings rose to 10.1 million in April from a revised 9.7 million in March. Economists had expected job openings to fall to 9.4 million.
Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as worries about fuel demand resurfaced, while a stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July slumped $1.37 or 2 percent at $68.09 a barrel.
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