(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, improving more than 80 points or 1.6 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Straits Times Index sits just above the 4,975-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on disappointing data and continued weakness from technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index added 10.37 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 4,975.87 after trading between 4,944.24 and 4,980.57
Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT gained 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell 0.42 percent, CapitaLand Investment slumped 0.96 percent, City Developments rallied 1.16 percent, DBS Group improved 0.56 percent, DFI Retail Group advanced 0.95 percent, Genting Singapore expanded 0.68 percent, Hongkong Land dropped 0.93 percent, Keppel Ltd surged 6.12 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation perked 0.05 percent, SATS climbed 1.05 percent, Seatrium Limited lost 0.48 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.50 percent, Singapore Airlines soared 1.67 percent, Singapore Exchange sank 0.62 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.50 percent, SingTel stumbled 2.65 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 3.12 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.16 percent, UOL Group slipped 0.36 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.29 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.20 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Keppel DC REIT and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent the entire session in the red, ending near daily lows.
The Dow tumbled 592.58 points or 1.20 percent to finish at 48,908.72, while the NASDAQ sank 363.99 points or 1.59 percent to end at 22,540.59 and the S&P 500 shed 84.32 points or 1.23 percent to close at 6,798.40.
Weakness among tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street amid losses from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Qualcomm (QCOM), which provided disappointing guidance.
Tech stocks have moved sharply lower over the past few sessions amid concerns about valuations and the impact of artificial intelligence.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week. The Labor Department also said job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in over five years in December.
Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday after weak U.S. jobs data increased demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.87 or 2.87 percent at $63.27 per barrel.
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