The Singapore stock market has been on a downward trend over the last two trading sessions, shedding nearly 10 points or 0.3%. The Straits Times Index currently rests just below the 3,800-point mark, with predictions of further losses on Tuesday. The outlook for Asian markets is bearish, influenced by anticipated declines in oil and technology sectors. Both European and U.S. markets closed mostly lower, which suggests Asian markets will likely follow this trend.
On Monday, the STI ended with moderate losses, impacted by declines in real estate investment trusts. However, gains were observed in banking stocks, while property and industrial sectors showed mixed results. The index dropped 7.55 points, or 0.20%, settling at 3,796.71, fluctuating between 3,790.75 and 3,806.06 throughout the day. Notable stock movements included CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust falling 1.03%, City Developments decreasing 0.40%, DBS Group inching up 0.21%, with DFI Retail gaining 0.44%. Genting Singapore slid 1.34%, while Hongkong Land rallied 1.41%. Keppel DC REIT experienced a significant 7.93% decline, and Keppel Ltd dropped 0.73%. Mapletree Industrial Trust decreased by 2.73%, whereas the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation edged up by 0.12%. SATS decreased by 0.58%, Seatrium Limited dropped by 1.77%, and SembCorp Industries decreased by 0.36%. In contrast, Singapore Technologies Engineering climbed 1.46%, Thai Beverage declined 0.93%, Wilmar International dropped 0.65%, Yangzijiang Financial rose 1.11%, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding saw a 1.34% increase. Several stocks, including Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, SingTel, Emperador, Mapletree Logistics Trust, and Comfort DelGro, remained unchanged.
Wall Street provided a discouraging lead, with major indices opening in the red on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a modest climb, gaining 289.33 points or 0.65% to close at 44,713.58. However, the NASDAQ fell sharply, plummeting 612.47 points or 3.07% to end at 19,341.83, while the S&P 500 also declined, losing 88.96 points or 1.46% to finish at 6,012.28.
The sell-off in the U.S. market was largely driven by significant weaknesses in technology stocks, notably with Nvidia (NVDA) facing substantial declines. Nvidia's drop followed news that DeepSeek’s AI Assistant, a Chinese startup, surpassed ChatGPT as the top-rated free app on the U.S. Apple App Store.
Market sentiment was also affected by apprehensions regarding the outlook for interest rates, with the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy meeting looming. While it is widely anticipated that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged, investors are keenly watching for any hints concerning future rate directions. Recent economic data has sparked concerns that rates may remain steady for an extended period.
Additionally, oil prices declined significantly on Monday amidst uncertainties surrounding U.S. trade policy and new tariff threats. Weak manufacturing figures from China have further added to concerns about future demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March dropped $1.49, or 2%, closing at $73.17 per barrel. Back in Singapore, the release of preliminary data for Q4 unemployment is anticipated today, following a jobless rate of 1.9% in the preceding quarter.
