Singapore Stock Market Predicted To Open Under Pressure On Thursday

The Singapore stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 50 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,325-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start for Thursday’s trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative following a downgrade in the United States’ credit rating. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and REITs.

For the day, the index stumbled 48.77 points or 1.45 percent to finish at 3,325.02 after trading between 3,315.80 and 3,362.24.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT eased 0.70 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both lost 0.98 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 2.05 percent, City Developments sank 1.08 percent, DBS Group stumbled 1.63 percent, Genting Singapore shed 1.06 percent, Hongkong Land dropped 1.36 percent, Keppel Corp slumped 1.62 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust declined 1.81 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust skidded 1.39 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust retreated 1.80 percent, SATS plunged 3.19 percent, Seatrium Limited surrendered 2.16 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.90 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering weakened 1.60 percent, SingTel plummeted 4.98 points, Thai Beverage slid 0.83 percent, Wilmar International was down 0.78 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tanked 2.99 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 1.29 percent and Comfort DelGro, Emperador and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 348.16 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 35,282.52, while the NASDAQ sank 310.47 points or 2.17 percent to end at 13,973.45 and the S&P 500 dropped 63.34 points or 1.38 percent to close at 4,513.39.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after credit rating agency Fitch Ratings unexpectedly downgraded the United States’ credit rating. Fitch downgraded the U.S.’ long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA, citing a “steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years.”

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said U.S. private sector employment jumped more than expected in July. But while the report points to continued strength in the U.S. labor market, the data may lead to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in July.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday amid concerns about outlook for demand, despite data showing a massive drop in crude stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $.88 or 2.3 percent at $79.49 a barrel.