(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had slipped almost 50 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,520-point plateau and it may see additional support on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on optimism over earnings news, although weakness from the technology and oil companies may limit the upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday as the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues were mostly in the green.
For the day, the index rose 8.93 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 4,520.83 after trading between 4,516.34 and 4,536.56.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.43 percent, while City Developments gathered 0.42 percent, DBS Group and DFI Retail Group both added 0.50 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.68 percent, Hongkong Land surged 5.48 percent, Keppel DC REIT and Frasers Centrepoint Trust both gained 0.45 percent, Keppel Ltd sank 0.79 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.70 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust expanded 0.78 percent, Seatrium Limited rallied 0.97 percent, SembCorp Industries slipped 0.34 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering eased 0.12 percent, SingTel fell 0.44 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.29 percent, UOL Group advanced 0.72 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.66 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.14 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 2.65 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, SATS, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Investment, Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage and Mapletree Industrial Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but trended steadily higher as the day progressed.
The Dow jumped 646.26 points or 1.34 percent to finish at a record 48,704.01, while the NASDAQ dipped 60.30 points or 0.25 percent to close at 23,593.86 and the &P 500 rose 14.32 points or 0.21 percent to end at 6,901.00.
The surge by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Visa (V) after Bank of American upgraded its rating on the stock to Buy from Neutral. Strong gains by Nike (NKE), UnitedHealth (UNH) and American Express (AXP) also contributed to the jump by the blue chip index.
On the other hand shares of Oracle (ORCL) weighed on the NASDAQ after the company reported fiscal Q2 earnings that beat estimates but on weaker than expected revenues - reflecting renewed valuation concerns.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded more than expected last week.
Crude oil prices dropped on Thursday on oversupply concerns even as OPEC prepares to pause output hikes in early 2026. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.88 or 1.51 percent at $57.58 per barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will see Q3 figures for unemployment later today; the jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 2.0 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
