The Singapore stock market headed lower again on Wednesday, one session after it had concluded the three-day losing streak in which it had given away more than 80 points or 2.8 percent. The Straits Times Index finished just above the 2,900-point plateau, and now analysts are predicting continued weakness at the opening of trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative as reports suggest that the debt problems in Europe are growing worse. Greece is facing a political impasse after voters turned down the parties that accepted the international bailout terms. Also, Spanish banks were pummeled after borrowing costs spiked higher for Madrid. The European markets finished mostly lower and the U.S. bourses were firmly in the red - and the Asian markets also figure to track to the downside.
The STI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index plunged 31.07 points or 1.06 percent to finish at the daily low of 2,900.91 after trading as high as 2,919.04 on volume of 1.70 billion shares. There were 255 decliners and 132 gainers.
Among the decliners, Olam International shed 2.7 percent, while Golden Agri-Resources lost 2.2 percent, Wilmar International fell 1.9 percent, DBS Group dropped 2.9 percent, OCBC eased 0.6 percent and UOB retreated 0.7 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as stocks moved lower on Wednesday, although they moved off of session lows later in the day. The early sell-off came as traders continued to express concerns about the recent elections in France and Greece and their potential impact on efforts to address the European debt crisis.
Investors kept a close eye on the political situation in Greece, where leftist leader Alexis Tsipras attempted to form a coalition government. Tsipras is opposed to the terms of the bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - although his efforts have been unsuccessful, however, with the debt-plagued nation potentially headed to a new round of elections in June.
Further selling pressure was generated by reports that Eurozone countries were debating a potential delay in a 5.2 billion euro bailout payment to Greece due to the ongoing political uncertainty. But subsequent reports contradicted the news from the Journal and helped the markets to recover, and the European Financial Stability Facility's Board of Directors later confirmed the payment.
In corporate news, shares of Disney (DIS) rose by 1.6 percent after the entertainment giant reported better than expected second quarter results, benefiting from strong performances by its media networks and theme parks.
The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, although well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow dropped 97.03 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 12,835.06, while the NASDAQ fell 11.56 points or 0.4 percent to end at 2,934.71, and the S&P 500 slid 9.14 points or 0.7 percent to 1,354.58.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.