The Singapore stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,170-point plateau and it may see additional support on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic as traders look to add window dressing ahead of the year’s end. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index advanced 30.78 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 3,170.76 after trading between 3,139.80 and 3,176.54.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT was up 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 1.00 percent, CapitaLand Investment strengthened 1.67 percent, City Developments soared 2.18 percent, DBS Group climbed 1.38 percent, DFI Retail skyrocketed 5.58 percent, Emperador improved 0.95 percent, Genting Singapore perked 0.51 percent, Hongkong Land rallied 1.49 percent, Keppel Corp increased 0.87 percent, Keppel DC REIT spiked 2.14 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust accelerated 2.00 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust added 0.81 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gathered 0.59 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 1.03 percent, SATS rose 0.74 percent, Seatrium Limited jumped 1.77 percent, SembCorp Industries picked up 0.20 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.79 percent, SingTel fell 0.41 percent, Thai Beverage surged 3.96 percent and Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Comfort DelGro and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slipped in and out of the red before finishing with modest gains.
The Dow climbed 111.19 points or 0.30 percent to finish at a record 37,656.52, while the NASDAQ added 24.60 points or 0.16 percent to close at 15,099.18 and the S&P 500 rose 6.83 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,781.58.
The uptick by stocks came as treasury yields moved notably lower over the course of the session, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling to its lowest level in five months.
Treasury yields saw further downside after the Treasury Department revealed this month’s auction of $58 billion worth of five-year notes attracted average demand.
The decrease in treasury yields has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates, generating renewed buying interest on Wall Street.
Oil prices fell Wednesday on reports that shipping companies have resumed travel via the Suez Canal and Red Sea again after a geopolitical pause. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February sank $1.46 or 1.9 percent at $74.11 a barrel. – RTT News
