The Singapore stock market has witnessed a decline over the last four consecutive sessions, dropping nearly 100 points, equating to a 2.8% decrease. Currently, the Straits Times Index hovers just under the 3,720-point level, with hopes for stabilization on Monday.
Globally, there is an air of cautious optimism for Asian markets due to a positive outlook on interest rates. While European markets faced declines, U.S. markets rose, and it is anticipated that Asian markets will follow this upward trend.
On Friday, the STI saw a significant drop, largely driven by downturns in financial shares, property, and industrial sectors. Specifically, the index fell by 42.95 points or 1.14%, closing at a low of 3,719.93, after reaching a high of 3,751.45.
Performance among active stocks varied: CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust decreased by 0.52%, and CapitaLand Investment dipped by 0.39%. Furthermore, City Developments and Mapletree Logistics Trust both declined by 0.79%. On the other hand, Comfort DelGro experienced a gain of 1.39%. Notably, DBS Group dropped 1.34%, DFI Retail Group fell 1.30%, and Hongkong Land slid 0.92%. Other movements included Keppel DC REIT’s 0.93% slump and Keppel Ltd’s 0.74% decrease, while Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rose by 0.84%. Significant declines were seen with the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation plunging 1.74%, Seatrium Limited plummeting 2.05%, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding declining 1.38%. Meanwhile, Emperador, Genting Singapore, Mapletree Industrial Trust, and Frasers Centrepoint Trust remained unchanged.
The generally positive cue from Wall Street followed major indices initially opening lower on Friday but then quickly rebounding and maintaining upward momentum throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 498.06 points, or 1.18%, closing at 42,840.26. Similarly, the NASDAQ increased by 199.80 points, or 1.03%, to 19,572.60, and the S&P 500 gained 63.77 points, or 1.09%, ending at 5,930.85.
Over the past week, however, the Dow decreased by 2.3%, the S&P 500 fell by 2.0%, and the NASDAQ dropped 1.8%. This rally on Wall Street was influenced by the Commerce Department's slower-than-anticipated personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. This slower growth prompted traders to invest in stocks at lower prices following a mid-week sell-off.
Additionally, oil futures ended the week with gains as a weaker dollar, spurred by the PCE data, alleviated concerns regarding interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures rose marginally by $0.08, about 0.1%, to settle at $69.46 per barrel, although they experienced a 2.5% decline over the week.
Domestically, Singapore is set to announce its November consumer price index (CPI) figures. In October, the country recorded a monthly inflation decrease of 0.3% and an annual increase of 1.4%, with core inflation at 2.1% year-on-year.