Singapore Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 100 points or 2.1 percent along the way. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Straight Times Index sits just beneath the 4,750-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, as traders are expected to lock in gains with several markets at or near record highs. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as the financials, properties and industrials were mostly in the green.

For the day, the index perked 7.65 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 4,747.62 after trading between 4,730.50 and 4,765.29.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT added 0.70 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust vaulted 0.84 percent, CapitaLand Investment advanced 0.72 percent, City Developments surged 4.17 percent, DBS Group expanded 0.81 percent, DFI Retail Group dropped 0.76 percent, Genting Singapore sank 0.68 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 1.69 percent, Keppel Ltd slumped 1.69 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.59 percent, SATS climbed 0.79 percent, Seatrium Limited improved 0.45 percent, SembCorp Industries increased 0.33 percent, Singapore Airlines rose 0.15 percent, Singapore Exchange rallied 0.91 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering spiked 2.53 percent, SingTel stumbled 3.30 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.31 percent, UOL Group soared 3.04 percent, Wilmar International and Venture Corporation both gained 0.32 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding accelerated 2.25 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Thai Beverage, Keppel DC REIT and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late slump saw them end mixed.

The Dow dropped 466.00 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 48,996.08, while the NASDAQ rose 37.10 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23,584.28 and the S&P 500 sank 23.89 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,920.93.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.

Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased less than expected in December.

Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in November, while the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in December.

Crude oil prices plunged again on Wednesday due to emerging supply side concerns following U.S. attempts to gain control of Venezuelan oil wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.94 percent at $56.02 per barrel.