Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

The Singapore stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,240-point plateau although it’s due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian market figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the plantations, telecoms and technology stocks, while the properties and financials were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 0.66 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 3,242.29 after trading between 3,237.09 and 3,257.88.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.49 percent, while CapitaLand Investment retreated 1.05 percent, City Developments advanced 0.87 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.84 percent, DBS Group lost 0.25 percent, Genting Singapore skidded 0.90 percent, Hongkong Land rallied 1.37 percent, Keppel Corp gained 0.63 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tumbled 1.16 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.57 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.57 percent, SATS gathered 0.38 percent, SembCorp Industries spiked 1.53 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering sank 0.55 percent, SingTel fell 0.39 percent, Thai Beverage slumped 0.81 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.18 percent, Wilmar International declined 1.01 percent, Yangzijiang Financial collected 0.83 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.52 percent and Emperador, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Ascendas REIT and DFI Retail Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly upbeat as the major averages opened higher and the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished firmly in positive territory, while the Dow ended just below the unchanged line.

The Dow dipped 30.48 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 33,531.33, while the NASDAQ jumped 126.89 points or 1.04 percent to end at 12,306.44 and the S&P 500 added 18.47 points or 0.45 percent to close at 4,137.64.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the Labor Department’s highly anticipated report on consumer prices, which said inflation matched estimates and rose in April.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth eased to 4.9 percent in April from 5.0 percent in March. That marked the smallest 12-month increase since April 2021 and added to optimism about the Federal Reserve pausing its interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices showed a notable move to the downside on Wednesday, giving back ground after closing high for three straight sessions. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery slumped $1.15 or 1.6 percent to $72.56 a barrel after peaking at $73.71 in the previous session.