The Singapore stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,160-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat as they continue to recover from recent selling, supported mainly by crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index jumped 40.26 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 3,159.26 after trading between 3,128.83 and 3,166.40. Volume was 1.34 billion shares worth 1.29 billion Singapore dollars. There were 304 gainers and 195 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.66 percent, while CapitaLand strengthened 1.25 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Mapletree Logistics Trust both added 0.96 percent, City Developments and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both gained 0.74 percent, Comfort DelGro increased 0.64 percent, DBS Group jumped 1.75 percent, Genting Singapore improved 0.62 percent, Keppel Corp surged 2.88 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust gathered 1.42 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation spiked 1.85 percent, SATS soared 2.38 percent, SembCorp Industries rallied 1.45 percent, Singapore Airlines skyrocketed 3.12 percent, Singapore Exchange climbed 1.64 percent, Singapore Press Holdings was up 0.56 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 1.27 percent, SingTel perked 1.35 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 1.13 percent, Wilmar International accelerated 1.79 percent and Dairy Farm International and Thai Beverage were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but all headed higher in the afternoon and finished in the green.
The Dow added 25.35 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 34,823.35, while the NASDAQ gained 52.64 points or 0.36 percent to end at 14,684.60 and the S&P 500 rose 8.79 points or 0.20 percent to close at 4,367.48.
The modestly higher close on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum as stocks continued to recover from the sell-off on Monday. However, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves following the recent volatility.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rebounded in June following four straight monthly declines.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a third successive day, thanks to reports showing strong gasoline demand and a rebound in distillate fuels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended up $1.61 or 2.3 percent at $71.91 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will release June figures for inflation later today, with forecasts suggesting an overall rate of 2.5 percent on year – up from 2.4 percent in May. Core CPI is called higher by an annual 0.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent in the previous month.
Market Analysis
Win Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market
2021-07-23 00:00:09
