Singapore Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,175-point plateau and it's expected to see continued strength on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with solid market leads offset by the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas that erupted over the weekend. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets may follow suit.

The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials, industrials and properties were capped by weakness from the trusts.

For the day, the index added 19.29 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 3,174.39 after trading between 3,155.86 and 3,179.94.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust both declined 1.12 percent, while CapitaLand Investment climbed 0.99 percent, City Developments and Genting Singapore both added 0.61 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.77 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.56 percent, Emperador slumped 0.98 percent, Frasers Logistics plunged 1.85 percent, Hongkong Land surged 2.06 percent, Keppel Corp advanced 0.92 percent, Keppel DC REIT skidded 0.97 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.90 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plummeted 3.73 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.78 percent, SATS rose 0.40 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.60 percent, SembCorp Industries soared 1.85 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering perked 0.26 percent, SingTel gained 0.42 percent, Wilmar International rallied 0.83 percent, Yangzijiang Financial retreated 1.41 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 1.27 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Friday, quickly moved higher and finished well in the green.

The Dow surged 287.98 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 33,407.58, while the NASDAQ soared 211.54 points or 1.60 percent to end at 13,431.34 and the S&P 500 rallied 50.31 points or 1.18 percent to close at 4,308.50.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.6 percent, the S&P added 0.5 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. surged much more than expected in September.

The report triggered a spike by treasury yields amid renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates, with yields once again soaring to their highest levels in over 16 years. But treasury yields pulled back as the day progressed, fueling the subsequent rebound on Wall Street.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday following recent losses, after data showed stronger than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in September. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.48 or 0.6 percent at $82.79 a barrel. But WTI crude futures shed 9 percent in the week.