(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 20 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just shy of the 4,310-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns about the health of the American economy. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are also expected to open to the downside.
The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index added 10.25 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 4,307.08 after trading between 4,300.85 and 4,320.37.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT and CapitaLand Investment both strengthened 0.73 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust accelerated 0.89 percent, City Developments jumped 0.75 percent, DBS Group increased 0.53 percent, DFI Retail Group skyrocketed 3.11 percent, Genting Singapore surged 2.68 percent, Hongkong Land gathered 0.31 percent, Keppel DC REIT rallied 0.87 percent, Keppel Ltd improved 0.58 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust climbed 0.72 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust gained 0.48 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.77 percent, Seatrium Limited lost 0.42 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.49 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.38 percent, SingTel rose 0.46 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.22 percent, UOL Group spiked 1.66 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding accelerated 1.31 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Logistics Trust, SATS, Comfort DelGro and Venture Corporation were unchanged.
The lead from the Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Friday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red.
The Dow stumbled 220.44 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 45,400.86, while the NASDAQ fell 7.31 points or 0.03 percent to close at 21,700.39 and the S&P 500 sank 20.58 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,481.50. For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.1 percent, the S&P rose 0.3 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.
The early downturn on Wall Street came as traders digested a closely watched Labor Department report showing much weaker than expected U.S. job growth in the month of August.
Traders initially reacted positively to the report amid optimism the data will convince the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month. But buying interest quickly waned amid concerns about the outlook for the economy.
Crude oil moved sharply lower on Friday as oversupply concerns grew stronger ahead of OPEC’s Sunday meeting, where the group did as expected and boosted output. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery dropped $1.64 or 2.58 percent to $61.84 per barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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