Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,130-point plateau and it's expected to find additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index advanced 25.74 points or 0.83 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,129.40 after moving as low as 3,093.47. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 944.3 million Singapore dollars. There were 249 gainers and 201 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT improved 0.70 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rallied 1.46 percent, CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.58 percent, City Developments surged 1.93 percent, Comfort DelGro strengthened 1.45 percent, DBS Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both rose 0.53 percent, Genting Singapore climbed 1.39 percent, Hongkong Land lost 0.40 percent, Keppel Corp advanced 1.24 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust increased 0.57 percent, SATS added 1.04 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.71 percent, Singapore Exchange was up 0.32 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering spiked 1.74 percent, SingTel soared 1.92 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.11 percent, Wilmar International skyrocketed 3.24 percent, Yangzijiang Financial dropped 1.22 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.61 percent and Mapletree Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Thai Beverage, Frasers Logistics and Keppel DC REIT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Thursday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow spiked 346.87 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 31,384.55, while the NASDAQ surged 259.49 points or 2.28 percent to end at 11,621.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 57.54 points or 1.50 percent to close at 3,902.62.

The higher open on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, which all but assured another significant rate hike in the Fed's bid to bring down inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than expected in May, while the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose more than expected.

The closely watched non-farm payroll report for June is due out from the Labor Department later today.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, regaining ground after two days of losses. Data showing a decline in gasoline supply last week, and the dollar's weakness supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $4.20 or 4.3 percent at $102.73 a barrel.