Renewed Consolidation Likely For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had slumped almost 80 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,850-point plateau although it's expected to open under water on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over surging energy prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday as the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues ended mostly to the upside.

For the day, the index added 33.81 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 4,846.56 after trading between 4,827.79 and 4,877.62.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT shed 0.38 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.42 percent, CapitaLand Investment gained 0.70 percent, City Developments and Venture Corporation both accelerated 1.97 percent, DBS Group perked 0.22 percent, DFI Retail Group spiked 2.33 percent, Genting Singapore increased 0.74 percent, Hongkong Land soared 2.52 percent, Keppel DC REIT improved 0.87 percent, Keppel Ltd jumped 1.83 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust added 0.72 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 1.00 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.29 percent, SATS climbed 1.10 percent, SembCorp Industries slumped 0.70 percent, Singapore Airlines rose 0.60 percent, Singapore Exchange rallied 1.60 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering skyrocketed 4.43 percent, SingTel strengthened 1.22 percent, Thai Beverage expanded 1.15 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.50 percent, UOL Group surged 3.47 percent, Wilmar International vaulted 1.48 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.40 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust and Seatrium Limited were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent all day in the red, although ending off session lows.

The Dow tumbled 784.67 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 47,954.74, while the NASDAQ sank 58.50 points or 0.26 percent to close at 22,748.99 and the S&P 500 lost 38.79 points or 0.56 percent to end at 6,830.71.

Concerns about the impact of sharply higher energy prices weighed on Wall Street, as the price of crude oil resumed the surge seen early in the week.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed again on Thursday, resuming the surge seen earlier in the week in reaction to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $6.51 or 8.7 percent to $81.17 a barrel and has soared $14.15 or 21.1 percent so far this week.

Iran has claimed it struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, raising fears of a wider conflict after the Islamic republic threatened to halt shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks but might be over sooner.