Singapore Market May Crack Resistance At 3,100 Points

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has inched higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 20 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,080-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on rising optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index rose 5,72 percent or 0.19 percent to finish at 3,082.49 after trading between 3,076.00 and 3,106.76.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT soared 2.69 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust accelerated 2.27 percent, CapitaLand Investment was up 0.34 percent, City Developments and Hongkong Land both gained 0.63 percent, DBS Group slumped 1.12 percent, Emperador advanced 0.99 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.48 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.96 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 2.37 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust rallied 2.03 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dipped 0.16 percent, SATS increased 0.81 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 1.46 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering and Yangzijiang Financial both strengthened 1.59 percent, SingTel jumped 1.67 percent, Thai Beverage dropped 0.92 percent, Wilmar International climbed 1,39 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.47 percent and Comfort DelGro, Seatrium Limited and Genting Singapore were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 564.50 points or 1.70 percent to finish at 33,839.08, while the NASDAQ jumped 232.72 points or 1.78 percent to end at 13,294.19 and the S&P 500 rallied 79.92 points of 1.89 percent to close at 4,317.78.

The rally on Wall Street came on optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed left rates unchanged for the third time in the past four meetings, suggesting the central bank is done raising interest rates.

Treasury yields moved notably lower Wednesday and showed another significant move to the downside today, adding to the buying interest.

Traders will look now to the Labor Department's closely watched employment report for the month of October, due out later today.

Crude oil futures climbed higher Thursday as the dollar weakened on bets the Federal Reserve is done with its rate hiking cycle. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December rallied $2.02 or 2.5 percent at $82.46 a barrel.