Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Remain Rangebound

The Singapore stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 60 points or 1.9 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,225-point plateau although it’s expected to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index shed 17.28 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 3,226.72 after trading between 3,217.75 and 3,243.76. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 222 decliners and 206 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.03 percent, City Developments gained 0.62 percent, DBS Group slumped 0.51 percent, Genting Singapore plunged 1.27 percent, Hongkong Land advanced 0.82 percent, Keppel Corp sank 0.44 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust retreated 0.56 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation declined 0.76 percent, SATS plummeted 2.82 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 1.06 percent, Singapore Exchange rose 0.31 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was up 0.24 percent, SingTel fell 0.38 percent, United Overseas Bank and Wilmar International both dropped 0.48 percent, Yangzijiang Financial soared 3.00 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.72 percent and Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Comfort DelGro and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 435.05 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 33,248.28, while the NASDAQ spiked 322.44 points or 2.69 percent to end at 12,316.90 and the S&P 500 gained75.59 points or 1.84 percent to close at 4,176.82.

The rally on the day more than offset the pullback seen over the two previous sessions, with the major averages reaching their best closing levels in almost a month.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street may partly have reflected optimism that the Federal Reserve could alter its plans to aggressively raise interest rates in the light of some weak economic data.

Later today, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

Crude oil moved notably higher on Thursday after the Energy Information Administration released a report showing a much bigger than expected weekly decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. Crude for July delivery jumped $1.61 or 1.4 percent to $116.87 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore later today will see May results for its private sector PMI from S&P 500 and also April figures for retail sales. In April, the index reading was 56.7, while retail sales picked up 7,5 percent on month and 8.7 percent on year in March.

Market Analysis