The Singapore stock market has moved lower now in back-to-back sessions, retreating almost 55 points or 2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index finished just above the 2,820-point plateau, and now traders are expecting additional damage when the market opens on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation thanks to expanding concerns from Europe and soft U.S. economic data. Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's long-term debt ratings to CCC from B-, citing the heightened risk that Greece may not be able to sustain its membership in the eurozone. That was coupled with a run on Spanish banks after that country officially slipped back into recession. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower, and the Asian markets are expected to open in the red.
The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and industrials.
For the day, the index shed 8.54 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 2822.61 after trading between 2,822.61 and 2,849.91 on volume of 1.20 billion shares. There were 194 decliners and 159 gainers.
Among the decliners, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp lost 0.35 percent and Neptune Orient Lines dropped 2.84 percent.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be negative as stocks saw substantial weakness on Thursday, with traders reacted negatively to disappointing U.S. economic data. Lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe also weighed on the markets.
The sell-off followed a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showing an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity in May as its diffusion index of current activity tumbled to a negative 5.8 from a positive 8.5 in April, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in regional manufacturing activity. The drop surprised economists, who had expected a reading of 10.0.
Adding to the negative sentiment, the Conference Board reported an unexpected drop by its leading economic indicators index, which edged down by 0.1 percent in April following a 0.3 percent increase in March. Economists had expected the index to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Also, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims unexpectedly came in unchanged in the week ended May 12. Jobless claims came in at 370,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure. Economists had expected 365,000 versus the 367,000 originally reported for the previous week.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart (WMT) bucked the downtrend by the broader markets after the retail giant reported better than expected first quarter results. The company also forecast second quarter earnings in line with estimates.
The major U.S. averages were sharply lower on Thursday as the Dow fell 156.06 points or 1.2 percent to finish at 12,442.49, while the NASDAQ plummeted 60.35 points or 2.1 percent to end at 2,813.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 19.94 points or 1.5 percent to 1,304.86. With the losses, the major averages extended a month-long downward move. The Dow and the S&P 500 hit four-month closing lows, while the NASDAQ fell to its lowest closing level in well over three months.
In economic news, Singapore's gross domestic product climbed a seasonally adjusted 10.0 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Thursday in a final reading. That was slightly higher than the 9.9 percent growth suggested in last month's flash estimate - but it fell shy of estimates for an 11.0 percent increase. GDP was down 2.5 percent on quarter in Q4 2011.
On a yearly basis, GDP was up 1.6 percent - unchanged from the preliminary read, but also missing expectations for a 1.8 percent increase following the 3.6 percent gain in the previous three months. Upon the release of the data, the MTI maintained its economic growth forecast for 2012 at 1.0 to 3.0 percent.
Also, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports increased 8.3 percent year-on-year in April, recovering from a 4.3 percent decline in March, IE Singapore said on Thursday. Expectations were for a 5.9 percent rise. The latest increase in exports was led by higher shipments of both electronic and non-electronic commodities, the trade promotion agency said. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX jumped 13 percent, compared to the previous month's contraction of 17 percent.
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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.