Market Commentary and Intraday News

Singapore Bourse May See Extend Selling Pressure

263 days ago

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 15 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index settled just above the 3,015-point plateau, and now traders are expecting continued if mild easing when the market kicks off trade on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a hint of weakness after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the outlook for the European Union to negative from stable. A decline in Germany's manufacturing activity also may weigh on investors. The European markets were higher on Monday, while the U.S. bourses were closed for the Labor Day holiday - and the Asian markets are expected to open lower.

The STI finished modestly lower on Monday, bumped into the red by weakness from the financial shares and the industrials.

For the day, the index dipped 8.24 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,017.22 after trading between 3,012.81 and 3,028.80 on volume of 929.1 million shares. There were 213 gainers and 202 decliners.

Among the actives, SembCorp Industries dropped 1.95 percent, Keppel Corp. lost 0.4 percent, OCBC shed 0.5 percent, DBS Group eased 0.3 percent and Olam International dipped 0.5 percent, while Wilmar International added 0.6 percent and Noble Group collected 0.8 percent.

There is no lead from Wall Street, which was closed for the Labor Day holiday, while the news from Europe is mixed - with caution also growing ahead of Friday's all-important nonfarm payroll data from the United States.

Adding to the pessimistic outlook, ratings agency Moody's on Monday downgraded the European Union's outlook to negative from stable, citing a weakened outlook for the region's largest economies and deterioration in credit-worthiness of certain members. The EU's AAA rating was unaffected.

On the economic front, Germany's manufacturing activity declined more than initially estimated for August, final data from Markit Economics showed on Monday. The final Markit/BME Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 44.7 in August, down from the flash reading of 45.1, but rose from 43 in July.

In a separate report, the Eurozone's manufacturing sector continued to contract in August, but a slower pace than in July, survey results confirmed. However, the improvement was slightly weaker than estimated in the flash report. In the U.K., the Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Purchasing Managers Index rose more than expected to 49.5 from 45.2 in July. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 46.3.

The major European markets were firmly higher on Monday as the DAX in Germany picked up 0.63 percent, while the CAC 40 in France surged 1.19 percent, London's FTSE collected 0.82 percent and the Swiss market added 0.78 percent.

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