The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,385-point plateau although it’s likely to run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index rose 7.68 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 3,388.52 after trading between 3,372.62 and 3,393.33.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT lost 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 0.85 percent, CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.26 percent, City Developments retreated 1.08 percent, DBS Group gained 0.56 percent, Emperador soared 2.00 percent, Genting Singapore and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both rallied 1.00 percent, Hongkong Land added 0.62 percent, Keppel Corp shed 0.42 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust dropped 0.56 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust declined 1.16 percent, SATS sank 0.65 percent, SembCorp Industries surged 2.72 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.27 percent, SingTel advanced 0.79 percent, Thai Beverage improved 0.73 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.98 percent, Wilmar International jumped 1.01 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 3.95 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding skidded 0.77 percent and Comfort DelGro and Mapletree Industrial Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the session.
