The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 10 points or 0.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,270-point plateau and it’s expected to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the release of encouraging U.S. inflation data and what it means for interest rates, although it may already have largely been priced in. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials and industrials, while the properties were up and the trusts were mixed.
For the day, the index eased 3.73 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 3,267.78 after trading between 3,253.99 and 3,283.98.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT was up 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.50 percent, CapitaLand Investment spiked 1.88 percent, City Developments gained 0.52 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 2.48 percent, DBS Group lost 0.40 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 1.01 percent, Hongkong Land rallied 1.68 percent, Keppel Corp slumped 1.24 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust added 0.57 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Singapore Technologies Engineering both climbed 0.89 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.62 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation skidded 0.95 percent, SATS surged 2.49 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 1.46 percent, SingTel advanced 0.89 percent, Thai Beverage dropped 0.69 percent, United Overseas Bank shed 0.56 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.49 percent, Yangzijiang Financial retreated 1.41 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 2.46 percent and Emperador was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday and finally settled solidly in positive territory.
