The Singapore stock market experienced a positive rebound on Wednesday, recovering shortly after concluding a five-day winning streak that added over 90 points or 2.8%. The Straits Times Index (STI) is currently positioned just below the 3,490-point mark, but projected trends indicate a potential decline at Thursday’s opening.
The outlook for Asian markets suggests a phase of consolidation, especially within the technology and semiconductor sectors. This follows a generally downward trend observed in the European and U.S. markets, which Asian bourses are expected to mirror.
On Wednesday, the STI saw a marginal rise, supported by gains in property stocks and industrial sectors, whereas the financial sector presented mixed results. The index increased slightly by 1.66 points, or 0.05%, ending the day at 3,489.57 after fluctuating between 3,482.73 and 3,495.53.
Individual stock performance varied:
- CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust decreased by 0.48%, while CapitaLand Investment rose by 0.73%.
- City Developments and UOL Group each gained 0.37%.
- DBS Group fell by 0.21%.
- Hongkong Land surged by 1.47%.
- Keppel DC REIT increased by 1.03%, and Keppel Ltd. rose by 0.30%.
- Mapletree Industrial Trust climbed 0.44%, and Mapletree Logistics Trust increased by 0.74%.
- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation went up by 0.53%.
- SATS fell sharply by 1.51%.
- SembCorp Industries strengthened by 0.85%.
- Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.46%.
- SingTel dropped 0.98%.
- Thai Beverage soared by 2.06%.
- Wilmar International rose 1.28%.
- Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell by 0.41%.
- Emperador, Genting Singapore, ComfortDelGro, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Financial, and Frasers Logistics remained unchanged.
On Wall Street, the performance diverged significantly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher and maintained its trajectory, achieving a new record high, whereas the NASDAQ and S&P 500 experienced declines.
- The Dow increased by 243.60 points or 0.59%, closing at 41,198.08.
- The NASDAQ dropped 512.42 points or 2.77%, ending at 17,996.92.
- The S&P 500 fell by 78.93 points or 1.39%, closing at 5,588.27.
The decline in Wall Street was influenced predominantly by semiconductor stocks, which fell amid reports of President Joe Biden's administration potentially instigating stricter trade regulations on semiconductor companies in relation to China. Further negative sentiment stemmed from former President Donald Trump’s comments, suggesting Taiwan should compensate the U.S. for defense, mentioning that Taiwan took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.
In economic updates, the U.S. Commerce Department highlighted a significant uptake in new residential construction and building permits for June. Complementary data from the Federal Reserve reported a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. industrial production last month.
Oil prices experienced a notable rise on Wednesday, attributed to an unexpected, substantial drop in U.S. crude inventories and a weaker dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied by $2.09, or 2.6%, reaching $82.85 per barrel.
