STI loses 1%

Sentiments are likely to remain gloomy following the continued retreat on Wall Street.

OCBC Investment Research said:

The continued retreat on Wall Street overnight and the poor Nikkei start (down 1.1% now) are likely to dent local sentiments further this morning.

Following US stock’s plunge on Wednesday night, the STI reacted similarly yesterday with a 1% loss by the close.

And with today’s tone likely to remain downside biased; we could see the index slipping further towards the 3000 psychological support.

Below that, the subsequent vital base lies at the 2980 key troughs. On the upside, 3020 is now the newly established support-turned-resistance, with the next obstacle marked at the 3065 support-turned-resistance.

IG Markets Singapore meanwhile noted:

In Singapore, it came as no surprise to see Thai tycoon Charoen extend the deadline for F&N to consider his bid. The new deadline is now November 22, one week after the deadline announced by OUE earlier this week.

So if you are a weary and confused F&N shareholder at least you know at the end of the month there will be an end to the saga of who is actually bidding for the conglomerate and at what price.

And commodity giants seem to be turning the corner. Wilmar saw profits rise 26% in Q3 while Noble posted a profit of US$75 million after both had previously scared investors with revenue falls.

Looking at the futures market today, the STI faces a weaker open which could see it test the psychological 3000 barrier it has worked so hard to build off.