Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 25 points or 0.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,110-point plateau although it's expected to open higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for inflation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion on Monday.

The STI finished sharply higher on Friday with gains across the board, especially among the financials, properties and industrials.

For the day, the index jumped 36.47 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 3,110.73 after trading between 3,078.54 and 3,111.11.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust both gathered 0.71 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 1.06 percent, City Developments climbed 1.13 percent, Comfort DelGro jumped 1.50 percent, DBS Group rallied 1.35 percent, Emperador gained 0.97 percent, Genting Singapore surged 2.62 percent, Hongkong Land perked 0.61 percent, Keppel Corp improved 1.04 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust was up 0.43 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust strengthened 1.24 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 1.12 percent, SATS picked up 0.37 percent, Seatrium Limited skyrocketed 7.92 percent, SembCorp Industries increased 1.02 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering spiked 1.89 percent, SingTel rose 0.86 percent, Thai Beverage added 1.01 percent, Wilmar International soared 2.25 percent, Yangzijiang Financial accelerated 1.61 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, CapitaLand Investment, Keppel DC REIT and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages overcame early choppiness on Friday, moving solidly higher in afternoon trade to finish in the green.

The Dow rallied 130.47 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 36,247.87, while the NASDAQ gained 63.97 points or 0.45 percent to close at 14,403.97 and the S&P 500 added 18.78 points or 0.41 percent to end at 4,604.37. For the week, the Dow inched marginally higher, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the NASDAQ added 0.7 percent.

The early volatility on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in November.

The data raised concerns that strength in the labor market could lead the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates, with investors hoping the central bank would pivot to rate cuts as early as March 2024.

But buying interest was generated in reaction to a University of Michigan report showing a pullback in consumers' inflation expectations in December.

Oil spiked sharply on Friday after Saudi Arabia and Russia urged the members of OPEC to join an output cut agreement. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.7 percent at $71.23 a barrel, snapping a six-day losing streak.