Higher Open Called For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, retreating more than 115 points or 4 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 2,685-point plateau although it may find its footing on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests a higher open on bargain hunting, although an increase in Covid-19 cases may limit the upside. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and property stocks, while the industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index slid 19.58 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 2,684.63 after trading between 2,609.03 and 2,690.77. Volume was 1.74 billion shares worth 2.17 billion Singapore dollars. There were 294 decliners and 170 gainers.

Among the actives, Comfort DelGro surged 2.55 percent, while SATS soared 2.19 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust plummeted 1.92 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation plunged 1.70 percent, United Overseas Bank tanked 1.15 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust tumbled 1.12 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust skidded 1.05 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 1.01 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.01 percent, DBS Group declined 0.99 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust surrendered 0.97 percent, Singapore Airlines, dropped 0.95 percent, SingTel shed 0.78 percent, Singapore Press Holdings sank 0.74 percent, Thai Beverage lost 0.71 percent, CapitaLand fell 0.66 percent, Ascendas REIT slid 0.64 percent, Wilmar International added 0.51 percent, Singapore Exchange dipped 0.48 percent, Keppel Corp was down 0.33 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering eased 0.29 percent and Genting Singapore and Hongkong Land were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Friday, recovering from heavy selling a day earlier.

The Dow jumped 477.34 points or 1.90 percent to finish at 25,605.54, while the NASDAQ advanced 96.08 points or 1.01 percent to end at 9,588.81 and the S&P 500 climbed 39.21 points or 1.31 percent to close at 3,041.31. For the week, the Dow shed 5.6 percent, the NASDAQ lost 2.3 percent and the S&P fell 4.8 percent.

Bargain hunting contributed to the strength on Wall Street as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels. The steep drop on Thursday marked the worst day for the markets since the sell-off seen as worries about the coronavirus began to escalate in March.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the University of Michigan noted a continued rebound in U.S. consumer sentiment in June. Also, the Labor Department reported a bigger than expected jump in U.S. import prices in May.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Friday for their first weekly loss in seven weeks as uncertainty about energy demand amid worries about the global growth outlook weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended down $0.08 or 0.2 percent at $36.26 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release Q2 numbers for unemployment later today, with forecasts pinning the jobless rate at 2.4 percent - up from 2.3 percent in the three months prior.