FX.co ★ Soft Start Seen For Singapore Stock Market

The Singaporean stock market broke a four-day losing streak on Wednesday, during which it plummeted by more than 90 points, or 3%. The Straits Times Index (STI) currently sits just below a key 3,155-point level, though it may face further consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for Asian markets currently looks mixed to slightly lower, with technology and oil stocks expected to exert downward pressure. While European markets recently experienced gains, US markets were in decline, leaving Asian markets to balance between the two opposing trends.

Wednesday saw the STI wrap up slightly higher, sustained by gains in financial shares, while property stocks and industrials presented mixed performances. The STI overall increased by 9.93 points, or approximately 0.32%, closing at 3,154.69, after trading in a range between 3,141.56 and 3,166.57 points.

Among the active entities, the CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, and Keppel DC REIT, all fell over 1%. City Developments, on the other hand, experienced growth of 0.89%, and other advancements were observed in the DBS Group and Emperador. Genting Singapore added 0.55%, while some holdings suffered; Hongkong Land, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, all saw losses.

Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday but turned lower shortly after, causing most of the day's trading to occur in negative territory. The Dow fell slightly, shedding 45.66 points, or 0.12%, to end at 37,753.31. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 both experienced larger losses.

There are concerns about future interest rates given remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who suggested that rates could stay higher for longer thanks to a "lack of progress" in meeting the central bank's inflation goal.

The technology-heavy NASDAQ was hampered by struggles amongst tech megagiant Nvidia, whose shares fell, causing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to slump as well.

Crude oil prices also fell on Wednesday, marking their third day of losses due in large part to data revealing a surge in US crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plummeted $2.67, or 3.1%, to $82.69 per barrel.