Singapore Shares Poised To Bounce Higher Again On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Thursday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 50 points or 1.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,260-point plateau although it's expected to find renewed support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing concerns over the health of the banking sector. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, gains from the properties and mixed performances from the industrials and REITs.

For the day, the index dipped 5.36 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,257.18 after trading between 3,238.98 and 3,262.67.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust retreated 0.52 percent, CapitaLand Investment rose 0.27 percent, City Developments spiked 1.10 percent, Comfort DelGro climbed 0.85 percent, DBS Group and Singapore Technologies Engineering both fell 0.27 percent, Emperador jumped 0.99 percent, Hongkong Land surged 2.10 percent, Keppel Corp rallied 1.08 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.56 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slumped 0.43 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation tanked 1.12 percent, SATS soared 1.45 percent, SingTel added 0.41 percent, Thai Beverage tumbled 0.77 percent, United Overseas Bank dropped 0.37 percent, Wilmar International declined 0.47 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 2.42 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust, Genting Singapore, Yangzijiang Financial, SembCorp Industries and Keppel DC REIT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Thursday, faded as the day progressed but still ended well in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 141.43 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 32,859.03, while the NASDAQ gained 87.24 points or 0.73 percent to close at 12,013.47 and the S&P 500 added 23.02 points or 0.57 percent to end at 4,050.83.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as concerns about turmoil in the banking sector continued to ease after sparking substantial volatility on Wall Street in recent weeks.

Traders also looked ahead to today's report on personal income and spending, which includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve and could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew slightly less than estimated in Q4 of 2022.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday on easing concerns over turmoil in the banking sector and supply disruptions in Turkey. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.40 or 1.9 percent at $74.37 a barrel.