Singapore Stock Market May Find Additional Support On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 100 points or 2.5 percent. The Straits Time Index now sits just above the 3,830-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

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

For the day, the index rose 7.24 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 3,833.07 after trading between 3,805.70 and 3,846.77.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rallied 2.46 percent, while CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.18 percent, City Developments added 0.20 percent, Comfort DelGro stumbled 2.08 percent, DBS Group collected 0.52 percent, DFI Retail skyrocketed 8.57 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.69 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.23 percent, Keppel DC REIT surged 4.88 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust accelerated 2.50 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Jardine Cycle both strengthened 0.98 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust spiked 3.20 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dropped 0.60 percent, SATS retreated 1.31 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.43 percent, SembCorp Industries sank 0.49 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering declined 0.99 percent, Venture Corporation fell 0.16 percent, Wilmar International climbed 0.93 percent, Yangzijiang Financial soared 3.88 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding slumped 0.85 percent and SingTel, Thai Beverage, Emperador and Keppel Ltd were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday before dipping and then rebounding to finally end mixed.

The Dow sank 82.55 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 41,350.93, while the NASDAQ rallied 212.35 points or 1.22 percent to close at 17,648.45 and the S&P 500 gained 27.23 points or 0.49 percent to end at 5,599.30.

The early strength on Wall Street followed the release of the closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly less than expected in February.

The tamer-than-expected inflation data led to some optimism about the Federal Reserve resuming interest rate cuts in the near future.

Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as concerns about the impact of new trade policies continue to weigh on the markets.

Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after data showed a smaller than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.43 or 2.16 percent at $67.68 a barrel.