Singapore's shares
took a breather Friday as markets likely thought it prudent to lock small gains
after a steep rise over the previous two days.
The 30-share Straits Times Index closed 0.3%, or 9.01 points, lower, at 3,289.53 after breaching the 3,300 psychological barrier briefly for the first time since Feb. 21. Volumes were lower at 3.51 billion shares compared with 4.3 billion shares that changed hands on Thursday. Losers outnumbered gainers 266 to 181.
Still, the benchmark ended the week with a 0.6% gain.
Elsewhere in the region, Japanese stocks climbed for the seventh successive session to touch a fresh multiyear high as the yen fell against the U.S. dollar on anticipation of aggressive monetary policy easing.
Asian markets were also waiting for China's monthly slew of economic data over the weekend. China will deliver data on inflation, industrial output and retail sales, which prompted some traders to refrain from taking fresh bets going into the weekend.
Property stocks were among the poor performers Friday amid recent measures by China and Singapore to curb rocketing real estate prices. CapitaLand shed 2.9% to close at S$3.62 while City Developments was down 1.8% to S$11.20, forming the worst performers among benchmark stocks.
Commodity stocks were mixed with Golden Agri-Resources down 0.8% to S$0.605 and Wilmar International down 1.2% to S$3.43. However, Noble Group eked out a 0.4% gain to close at S$1.18.
Rig builders gained Friday on hopes that a global economic recovery may spur investments in exploration and production. Sembcorp Marine added 0.7% to close at S$4.54 while its parent Sembcorp Industries was up 0.6% at S$5.22. Keppel Corp. gained 0.6% to S$11.85.
The 30-share Straits Times Index closed 0.3%, or 9.01 points, lower, at 3,289.53 after breaching the 3,300 psychological barrier briefly for the first time since Feb. 21. Volumes were lower at 3.51 billion shares compared with 4.3 billion shares that changed hands on Thursday. Losers outnumbered gainers 266 to 181.
Still, the benchmark ended the week with a 0.6% gain.
Elsewhere in the region, Japanese stocks climbed for the seventh successive session to touch a fresh multiyear high as the yen fell against the U.S. dollar on anticipation of aggressive monetary policy easing.
Asian markets were also waiting for China's monthly slew of economic data over the weekend. China will deliver data on inflation, industrial output and retail sales, which prompted some traders to refrain from taking fresh bets going into the weekend.
Property stocks were among the poor performers Friday amid recent measures by China and Singapore to curb rocketing real estate prices. CapitaLand shed 2.9% to close at S$3.62 while City Developments was down 1.8% to S$11.20, forming the worst performers among benchmark stocks.
Commodity stocks were mixed with Golden Agri-Resources down 0.8% to S$0.605 and Wilmar International down 1.2% to S$3.43. However, Noble Group eked out a 0.4% gain to close at S$1.18.
Rig builders gained Friday on hopes that a global economic recovery may spur investments in exploration and production. Sembcorp Marine added 0.7% to close at S$4.54 while its parent Sembcorp Industries was up 0.6% at S$5.22. Keppel Corp. gained 0.6% to S$11.85.
No comments:
Post a Comment