Singapore Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 35 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,120-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the property stocks and industrials were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index gained 18.69 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 3,122.95 after trading between 3,118.66 and 3,139.98.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT skyrocketed 5.28 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust spiked 4.71 percent, CapitaLand Investment strengthened 2.33 percent, City Developments rallied 3.83 percent, Comfort DelGro perked 0.71 percent, DBS Group and DFI Retail both tumbled 1.32 percent, Emperador gained 0.96 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.51 percent, Hongkong Land improved 1.84 percent, Keppel Corp gathered 0.74 percent, Keppel DC REIT accelerated 4.00 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 4.93 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust surged 5.17 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust jumped 3.68 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.32 percent, SATS collected 0.37 percent, SembCorp Industries climbed 1.37 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 1.06 percent, SingTel rose 0.84 percent, Thai Beverage added 1.00 percent, Wilmar International was up 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Financial increased 1.64 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding picked up 0.29 percent and Seatrium Limited was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded again to end in the green.

The Dow climbed 158.11 points or 0.43 percent to finish at a fresh record closing high of 37,248.35, while the NASDAQ gained 27.59 points or 0.19 percent to close at 14,761.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.46 points or 0.26 percent to end at 4,719.55.

Stocks continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, and signaled plans to cut interest rates three times next year.

Adding to optimism the economy is headed toward a soft landing, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales in November. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

Oil prices surged on Thursday for the second straight day, lifted by a weak dollar and an upward revision in global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas International Crude oil futures for January spiked $2.11 or 3 percent at $71.58 a barrel.