The Singapore stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sliding more than 150 points or 4.5 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,385-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with investors likely to remain skittish following heavy losses earlier this week. A steep drop in crude oil adds to the weak sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following weakness from the financial shares and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index sank 22.61 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 3,383.77 after trading between 3,377.19 and 3,460.20. Volume was 2.6 billion shares worth 2.2 billion Singapore dollars. There were 258 gainers and 256 decliners.
Among the actives, CapitaLand plummeted 2.49 percent, while CapitaLand Commercial Trust surged 2.31 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 2.05 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust jumped 1.50 percent, United Overseas Bank skidded 1.47 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 1.46 percent, DBS Group gave away 1.40 percent, Golden Agri-Resources spiked 1.39 percent, Hutchison Port Holdings advanced 1.37 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding perked 1.36 percent, Wilmar International shed 0.98 percent, Genting Singapore lost 0.79 percent, Ascendas REIT added 0.76 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation slid 0.65 percent, SingTel picked up 0.58 percent and Thai Beverage and Singapore Press Holdings were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks spent much of the day in positive territory before fizzling at the end to finish in the red.
The Dow shed 19.42 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 24,893.35, while the NASDAQ lost 63.90 points or 0.90 percent and the S&P 500 fell 13.49 points or 0.50 percent to 2,681.65.
Monday's sell-off was the worst single-day point decline in the Dow's history. Wednesday's lack of direction suggests that stocks remain overbought after a recent rally powered by tax breaks. The specter of a government shutdown also rattled investors.
Traders digested mixed remarks from Federal Reserve officials on a day bereft of economic news.
An increase in consumer prices could warrant as many as four rate hikes by year's end, said Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans. But Fed New York President William Dudley said the recent downturn in the stock market does not change the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil futures fell sharply Wednesday, extending a recent slump after data showed U.S. oil inventories dropped for a second week in a row. March WTI oil settled at $61.79/bbl, down $1.60 or 2.5 percent - the lowest in a month.
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