The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,290-point plateau although the rally figures to stall on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on continuing fears over the outlook for interest rates, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished barely higher on Friday following gains from the properties and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index rose 0.04 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 3,294.86 after trading between 3,281.58 and 3,298.94. Volume was 1.03 billion shares worth 1.12 billion Singapore dollars. There were 229 decliners and 224 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT advanced 0.70 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.50 percent, City Developments added 0.56 percent, Comfort DelGro climbed 0.73 percent, DBS Group retreated 1.22 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.64 percent, Keppel Corp surged 1.32 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Singapore Technologies Engineering both gained 0.54 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.08 percent, SATS soared 1.27 percent, Singapore Airlines spiked 1.19 percent, Singapore Exchange eased 0.10 percent, Singapore Press Holdings lost 0.43 percent, SingTel increased 0.40 percent, Thai Beverage jumped 0.76 percent, United Overseas Bank and Wilmar International both were up 0.23 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.49 percent and Dairy Farm International, Mapletree Logistics Trust and SembCorp Industries were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major U.S. markets were down again on Friday, hugging both sides of the unchanged line in the morning before going into freefall in the afternoon to end in the red for the fourth straight session.
For the day, the Dow plummeted 450.02 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 34,265.37, while the NASDAQ plunged 385.10 points or 2.72 percent to close at 13.768.92 and the S&P 500 tumbled 84.79 points or 1.89 percent to end at 4,397.94.
The particularly harsh drop on the NASDAQ was fueled by a weak earnings report from Netflix, which set off a cascade of selling pressure among the other markets.
Surging bond prices also drove the markets lower, exacerbating interest rate concerns; most analysts believe a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the FOMC is imminent in March.
Oil prices fell finished lower on Friday for the second straight session, although they came up from session lows. Crude's correction continued after touching a seven-year high earlier in the week on demand optimism and short-term supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.86 percent at $84.81 per barrel after falling as much as 3.2 percent earlier.
Closer to home, Singapore will release December figures for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an annual increase of 3.75 percent overall and 1.7 percent for core CPI. That follows the 3.8 percent overall increase and the 1.6 percent gain for core CPI in November.
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