The Singapore stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, retreating almost 45 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,535-point plateau although it may find traction on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside after the FOMC left interest rates unchanged. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index sank 14.75 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 3,533.99 after trading between 3,526.14 and 3,544.78. Volume was 2.3 billion shares worth 1.9 billion Singapore dollars. There were 256 decliners and 195 gainers.
Among the actives, Comfort DelGro soared 1.94 percent, while SembCorp Industries plummeted 1.45 percent, Golden Agri-Resources tumbled 1.30 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.27 percent, Hutchison Port Holdings jumped 1.22 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 1.14 percent, SingTel fell 0.84 percent, CapitaLand shed 0.78 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.74 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.46 percent, Wilmar International slid 0.31 percent, United Overseas Bank dipped 0.25 percent and Thai Beverage, Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Mall Trust, City Developments and DBS Group all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday after failing to sustain an early move to the upside. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing modestly higher.
The Dow added 72.50 points or 0.28 percent to 26,149.39, while the NASDAQ gained 9.00 points or 0.12 percent to 7,411.48 and the S&P 500 was up 1.38 points or 0.05 percent to 2,823.81.
The modestly higher close on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Fed's accompanying statement was slightly more hawkish, reinforcing expectations the central bank will raise rates at its next meeting in March.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted stronger than expected private sector job growth in January. A separate report from the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales increased for the third straight month in December.
Crude oil futures rose Wednesday as gasoline stockpiles fell by 2 million barrels, trimming recent inventory gains. March WTI oil gained 23 cents or 0.4 percent to settle at $64.73/bbl.
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