(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had dipped more than a dozen points or 0.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,920-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, as investors wait to see if there’s any slowdown in the Iran/Israel conflict. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and plantations and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index shed 9.83 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 3,920.81 after trading between 3,908.48 and 3,923.45.
Among the actives, City Developments slumped 0.78 percent, while Comfort DelGro gained 0.70 percent, DBS Group sank 0.52 percent, DFI Retail plunged 1.86 percent, Genting Singapore added 0.71 percent, Keppel DC REIT advanced 0.87 percent, Keppel Ltd and Singapore Technologies Engineering both rose 0.13 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.82 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.88 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.31 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.28 percent, SingTel rallied 1.02 percent, Venture Corporation tanked 1.64 percent, Wilmar International plummeted 2.66 percent, Yangzijiang Financial dropped 0.71 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 0.87 percent and SATS, Seatrium Limited, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Thai Beverage and Hongkong Land were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages spent most of Wednesday’s trade in positive territory before turning lower and ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow shed 44.14 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 42,171.66, while the NASDAQ rose 25.18 points or 0.13 percent to close at 19,546.27 and the S&P 500 eased 1.85 points or 0.03 percent to end at 5,980.87.
The lackluster day on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Fed officials still seem to expect to two interest rate cuts this year, lowering the rate to a range of 4.0 percent to 3.75 percent by the end of 2025.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits edged modestly lower last week. Also, the Commerce Department saw a steep drop by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of May.
Crude oil price ticked higher on Wednesday as the Israel-Iran conflict, which began with Israeli airstrikes on June 12, entered the sixth straight day with casualties increasing on both sides. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose by $0.30 to settle at $75.15 per barrel.
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