Singapore Shares Predicted To Open In The Green

The Singapore stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day losing streak in which hit had fallen more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,130-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to the improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the property stocks and REITs and mixed performances from the properties and financials.

For the day, the index advanced 27.46 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 3,132.12 after trading between 3,116.64 and 3,145.81.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT improved 2.60 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 2.72 percent, CapitaLand Investment spiked 5.37 percent, City Developments soared 5.97 percent, Comfort DelGro and Jardine Matheson both gained 1.53 percent, DBS Group sank 0.55 percent, Emperador dropped 0.98 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 2.13 percent, Hongkong Land rallied 3.36 percent, Keppel Corp jumped 3.22 percent, Keppel DC REIT surged 6.67 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust skyrocketed 6.77 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust strengthened 3.18 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust accelerated 3.92 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.54 percent, SATS increased 2.26 percent, Seatrium Limited picked up 0.92 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 1.39 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gathered 1.33 percent, SingTel perked 1.28 percent, Thai Beverage was up 0.94 percent, Wilmar International added 1.95 percent, Yangzijiang Financial collected 1.54 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.35 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed largely in the green although finished with limited gains.

The Dow jumped 163.51 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 34,991.21, while the NASDAQ rose 9.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 14,103.84 and the S&P 500 perked 7.18 points or 0.16 percent to end at 4,502.88.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as the latest inflation data added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates – especially after the Labor Department reported an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in October.

Following Tuesday’s tamer than expected consumer price inflation data, the latest report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. edged slightly lower in October.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday after data showed a sharp increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and a big jump in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December lost $1.60 or 2 percent at $76.66 a barrel, falling for the first time in five sessions.