The Singapore stock market on Friday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,300-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for economic growth and easing inflation. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher on Friday and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index dropped 32.69 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 3,269.27 after trading between 3,266.17 and 3,289.50. Volume was 1.46 billion shares worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 271 decliners and 220 gainers.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.47 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.28 percent, City Developments climbed 1.21 percent, DBS Group fell 0.36 percent, Genting Singapore declined 1.20 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 1.78 percent, Keppel Corp shed 0.43 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust skidded 0.52 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust lost 0.37 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust retreated 1.11 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.08 percent, SATS slumped 0.98 percent, Singapore Exchange dropped 0.51 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slid 0.25 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 3.68 percent, United Overseas Bank dipped 0.33 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.48 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tanked 1.54 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Ascendas REIT, SembCorp Industries, SingTel and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and accelerated as the session progressed, ending near daily highs.
The Dow surged 424/35 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 33,761.05, while the NASDAQ soared 267.29 points or 2.09 percent to end at 13,047.19 and the S&P 500 jumped 72.88 points or 1.73 percent to close at 4,280.15.
For the week, the S&P 500 skyrocketed 3.3 percent for its fourth straight weekly gain, while the NASDAQ spiked 3.1 percent and the Dow gained 2.9 percent.
Optimism that inflation has peaked contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street following tamer than expected readings last week on consumer and producer prices.
Adding to the positive sentiment about inflation, the Labor Department said U.S. import prices fell more than expected in July. Buying interest was also generated by a report from the University of Michigan showing U.S. consumer sentiment has improved much more than expected in August.
Crude oil prices fell sharply on Friday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its oil demand forecast for 2022. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $2.25 or 2.4 percent at $92.09 a barrel. For the week, WIT rose 3.5 percent.