Singapore Shares Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 25 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,315-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology shares expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished slightly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index slipped 6.06 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,316.56 after trading between 3,297.98 and 3,320.14.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT shed 0.38 percent, while CapitaLand Investment slumped 1.13 percent, City Developments lost 0.34 percent, Comfort DelGro soared 2.19 percent, DBS Group perked 0.06 percent, Genting Singapore skidded 1.10 percent, Hongkong Land retreated 1.74 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.55 percent, Keppel Ltd advanced 0.60 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rallied 0.81 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust and UOL Group both dropped 0.72 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.28 percent, SATS climbed 0.79 percent, Seatrium Limited skyrocketed 1,900.00 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 2.31 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slid 0.24 percent, SingTel gained 0.41 percent, Thai Beverage tumbled 1.94 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.64 percent, Yangzijiang Financial declined 1.54 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.70 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Emperador and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat but inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Friday; the S&P and NASDAQ remained firmly higher all day, while the Dow struggled to stay above water.

The Dow rose 4.33 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 39,069.59, while the NASDAQ jumped 184.76 points or 1.10 percent to close at a record high of 16,920.79 and the S&P 500 gained 36.88 points or 0.70 percent to end at 5,304.72.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and the Dow tumbled 2.3 percent.

The rebound on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the downturn seen on Thursday, which saw the Dow post its worst daily drop since March 2023.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in durable goods orders in April. Also, the University of Michigan said in a report that consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than estimated in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher Friday, snapping a four-day losing streak despite concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.85 at $77.72 a barrel; for the week, WTI crude futures slumped 3 percent.