(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has ended lower in two straight sessions, falling more than 80 points or 1.6 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,990-point plateau although it may halt its slide on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the U.S.-Iran war. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index lost 39.61 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 4,989.19 after trading between 4,978.80 and 5,035.58.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT slid 0.40 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell 0.44 percent, CapitaLand Investment contracted 1.15 percent, City Developments rallied 1.58 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.11 percent, DFI Retail Group surrendered 2.22 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.85 percent, Hongkong Land tanked 2.19 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.44 percent, Keppel Ltd skidded 1.11 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust sank 0.78 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust lost 0.51 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.84 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation slumped 0.86 percent, SATS surged 6.74 percent, Seatrium Limited declined 1.36 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.61 percent, Singapore Airlines climbed 1.05 percent, Singapore Exchange tumbled 1.61 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.54 percent, SingTel plunged 2.68 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.08 percent, UOL Group retreated 1.57 percent, Wilmar International plummeted 3.69 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 1.62 percent and Thai Beverage was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but quickly moved to the upside to finish with varying degrees of gains to close at fresh record highs.
The Dow added 24.69 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 50,668.97, while the NASDAQ jumped 242.74 points or 0.91 percent to end at 26,917.47 and the S&P 500 gained 43.27 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,563.63.
The turnaround on Wall Street came after a report from Axios said U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding.
Crude oil prices handed back most of their early gains on Thursday after reports of the understanding between the U.S. and Iran. After surging as much as $3.84 or 4.3 percent to a high of $92.52 a barrel, crude for July delivery ended up $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $89 a barrel.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly less than expected in April.
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