(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes though the last four trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had dropped almost 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 2,580-point plateau and it may see continued selling pressure on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising tensions between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index skidded 32.84 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 2,579.51 after trading between 2,572.93 and 2,603.83. Volume was 1.20 billion shares worth 1.31 billion Singapore dollars. There were 336 decliners and 132 gainers.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened lower on Friday and remained firmly in the red throughout the session.
The Dow shed 182.41 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 26,469.89, while the NASDAQ lost 98.22 points or 0.94 percent to end at 10,363.18 and the S&P 500 fell 20.03 points or 0.62 percent to close at 3,215.63. For the week, the Dow sank 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ fell 1.3 percent and the S&P eased 0.3 percent.
The weakness on Wall Street also came amid concerns about rising tensions between the U.S. and China after Beijing decided to revoke the license for the establishment and operation of the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu.
The move comes just days after the U.S. government ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, amid accusations Chinese diplomats aided in economic espionage and the attempted theft of scientific research.
Crude oil prices edged higher Friday as stronger than expected economic data from Europe and the U.S. helped ease worries about energy demand outlook. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.22 or 0.5 percent at $41.29 a barrel.