Singapore Bourse Set To Add To Its Winnings On Friday

The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting more than 30 points or 1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,100-point plateau and it’s poised to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on a U.S. debt limit agreement, upbeat economic news and a spike in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index gained 17.27 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 3,101.15 after trading between 3,098.81 and 3,118.52. Volume was 1.42 billion shares worth 1.28 billion Singapore dollars. There were 308 gainers and 163 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.68 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust soared 2.43 percent, City Developments surged 3.66 percent, Comfort DelGro gained 0.66 percent, Dairy Farm International lost 0.30 percent, DBS Group rose 0.56 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 1.39 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.21 percent, Keppel Corp increased 0.38 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust climbed 0.97 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust jumped 1.02 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation perked 0.17 percent, SATS sank 0.96 percent, SembCorp Industries accelerated 1.10 percent, Singapore Airlines was up 0.20 percent, Singapore Exchange shed 0.42 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering improved 0.26 percent, SingTel rallied 0.82 percent, Thai Beverage strengthened 0.75 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.58 percent, Wilmar International gathered 0.23 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding advanced 0.73 percent and CapitaLand and Singapore Press Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 337.95 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 34,754.94, while the NASDAQ jumped 152.10 points or 1.05 percent to close at 14,654.02 and the S&P 500 gained 36.21 points or 0.83 percent to end at 4,399.76.

The rally on Wall Street came as lawmakers reached an agreement to temporarily extend the debt limit, avoiding a potential default. The agreement would reportedly increase the debt limit by $480 billion, allowing the Treasury to continuing paying its bills through December 3.

Adding to the positive sentiment, a report from the Labor Department showed a bigger than expected pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil prices advanced Thursday, rebounding from losses in the previous session, on reports the U.S. Energy Department is unlikely to tap the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up $0.87 or 1.1 percent at $78.30 a barrel.

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