Singapore Shares Overdue For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in eight straight sessions, improving more than 110 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 4,120-point plateau although it's expected to see profit taking on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing inflation concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished modestly higher again on Wednesday following gains from the industrials and REITs, while the financials and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 12.43 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 4,132.25 after trading between 4,119.58 and 4,132.61.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT jumped 1.09 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust retreated 1.35 percent, City Developments surged 6.28 percent, DBS Group collected 0.07 percent, DFI Retail Group rose 0.33 percent, Hongkong Land dipped 0.16 percent, Keppel DC REIT strengthened 0.90 percent, Keppel Ltd expanded 0.75 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.80 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and SingTel both added 0.50 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.85 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.24 percent, SATS increased 0.31 percent, Seatrium Limited accelerated 1.38 percent, SembCorp Industries spiked 1.45 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was up 0.12 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.22 percent, UOL Group rallied 1.33 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Financial soared 1.68 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained 0.42 percent and CapitaLand Investment, Genting Singapore, Thai Beverage and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, dipped midday but then bounced higher heading into the close.

The Dow jumped 231.49 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 44,254.78, while the NASDAQ added 52.69 points or 0.25 percent to close at a fresh record high of 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,263.70.

Stocks came under pressure in late morning trade following reports President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a meeting with House Republicans.

However, the major averages moved back to the upside after Trump said he's "not planning" on firing Powell.

The choppy trading on Wall Street also followed a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in June. While the data helped ease inflation concerns, the Fed is still seen as likely to leave interest rates unchanged until September at the earliest.

Crude oil prices dropped for the third straight day on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell $0.14 to settle at $65.38 per barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will see June data for non-oil domestic exports later this morning; in May, NODX fell 12.0 percent on month and 3.5 percent on year for a trade surplus of SGD7.24 billion.