Singapore Bourse May Reclaim 3,200-Point Level

The Singapore stock market on Thursday ended the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,180-point plateau and it’s likely to see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index collected 8.71 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,182.55 after trading between 3,179.67 and 3,196.48.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.50 percent, CapitaLand Investment spiked 2.35 percent, City Developments sank 0.58 percent, DBS Group fell 0.43 percent, Emperador advanced 0.99 percent, Genting Singapore stumbled 0.98 percent, Hongkong Land lost 0.45 percent, Keppel Corp improved 0.93 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 2.42 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.86 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gained 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was up 0.08 percent, SATS climbed 1.14 percent, SembCorp Industries gathered 0.41 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering jumped 1.90 percent, SingTel perked 0.39 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.84 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.51 percent, Yangzijiang Financial rallied 1.45 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.20 percent and Comfort DelGro and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a flat open on Thursday, bounced up and down throughout the session before ending firmly higher.

The Dow climbed 115.14 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 33,535.91, while the NASDAQ surged 188.27 points or 1.51 percent to end at 12,688.84 and the S&P 500 added 39.28 points or 0.94 percent to close at 4,198.05.

Optimism lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street.

Following a meeting earlier in the week, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both expressed optimism a deal will be reached.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. The National Association of Realtors also released a report unexpectedly showing a steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in April.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for demand after recent data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a strong dollar weighed as well on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $71.86 a barrel.

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