Singapore Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,330-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key economic data in the coming days. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses saw mild gains and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials, properties and industrials.

For the day, the index perked 5.42 points or 0.16 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,331.70 after moving as low as 3,317.07.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment added 0.38 percent, while City Developments dropped 0.75 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.48 percent, DBS Group collected 0.11 percent, Hongkong Land gained 0.31 percent, Keppel DC REIT climbed 1.12 percent, Keppel Ltd shed 0.46 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust slumped 0.81 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust sank 0.47 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust skidded 0.76 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.07 percent, SATS declined 1.05 percent, Seatrium Limited retreated 1.34 percent, SembCorp Industries lost 0.40 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rallied 1.21 percent, SingTel jumped 1.50 percent and Thai Beverage, Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Emperador, Genting Singapore, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and spent most of the day hugging the line before a late push nudged them into the green.

The Dow rose 15.64 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 39,127.80, while the NASDAQ gained 87.50 points or 0.49 percent to close at 17,805.16 and the S&P 500 added 8.50 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,477.90.

The uncertainty on Wall Street came as investors braced for the release of key U.S. inflation data later this week for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Bank stocks were in focus ahead of the central bank's annual stress test, while shares of energy firms struggled a bit due to sluggish oil prices.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. saw a substantial decrease in the month of May, while building permits also slumped.

Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventories in the U.S. last week but recovered and eventually ended the day's session slightly higher. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.07 at $80.90 a barrel.