Win Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 5 points or 0.2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,175-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on increased optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the industrials, losses from the properties and a mixed picture from the financial shares.

For the day, the index rose 3.93 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 3,177.48 after trading between 3,174.13 and 3,188.06.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust spiked 1.05 percent, while CapitaLand Investment rose 0.38 percent, City Developments stumbled 1.20 percent, Comfort DelGro climbed 0.72 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.11 percent, DFI Retail surged 3.37 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.57 percent, Hongkong Land lost 0.31 percent, Keppel DC REIT sank 0.60 percent, Keppel Ltd added 0.42 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rallied 0.88 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust and UOL Group both slumped 0.70 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.37 percent, SATS and SingTel both gained 0.40 percent, SembCorp Industries soared 2.54 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering perked 0.26 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.29 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding advanced 0.55 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Seatrium Limited, Emperador and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and spent most of the day that way before a late surge boosted them firmly into the green and to record closing highs.

The Dow surged 401.37 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 39,512.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.62 points or 1.25 percent to end at 16,369.41 and the S&P 500 gained 46.11 points or 0.89 percent to close at 5,224.62.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged but also maintained its forecast for three rate cuts this year – which had been in some doubt.

The Fed said it again maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent, but the latest projections suggest Fed officials expect rates to be lowered to a range of 4.50 to 4.75 percent by the end of 2024.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as traders chose to take some profits following recent gains, while a firm dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $1.79 or 2.1 percent at $81.68 a barrel.