Singapore Shares May Bounce Higher Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Wednesday snapped the six-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 70 points or 2.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,220-point plateau although it's looking at steady start on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on improved optimism over the outlook for interest rates. European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and industrials and a mixed performance from the property sector.

For the day, the index dipped 2.87 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,220.22 after trading between 3,214.89 and 3,239.70.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT climbed 1.09 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 1.06 percent, CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.62 percent, City Developments was up 0.30 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.79 percent, DBS Group skidded 0.63 percent, Genting Singapore and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both dropped 0.56 percent, Hongkong Land retreated 0.84 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.29 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust slumped 0.65 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 1.77 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gained 0.60 percent, Seatrium Limited declined 0.69 percent, SembCorp Industries eased 0.18 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.52 percent, Thai Beverage rallied 1.75 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.84 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.14 percent and Emperador, SATS, SingTel and Yangzijiang Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, survived some early volatility and managed to finish in the green.

The Dow added 37.57 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,890.24, while the NASDAQ jumped 75.55 points or 0.11 percent to close at 14,019.31 and the S&P 500 rose 17.24 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,514.87.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a notable slowdown in the pace of private sector job growth in August.

The slightly smaller than expected increase in private sector employment added to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Separately, revised data from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew less than previously estimated in the second quarter.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's continued weakness and the impact of Hurricane Idalia on oil fields along Florida's Gulf Coast also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.47 or 0.6 percent at $81.63 a barrel.