Overbought Singapore Shares Nonetheless Called Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in 13 straight sessions, improving more than 210 points or 5.2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,230-point plateau and it's got a strong lead gain for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for trade deals. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly higher again on Wednesday following gains from the retail, financial and property stocks and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index improved 23.02 points or 0.55 percent to finish at the daily high of 4,231.28 after trading as low as 4,203.88.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.45 percent, while CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.08 percent, City Developments and Mapletree Logistics Trust both climbed 0.83 percent, Comfort DelGro soared 2.04 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.86 percent, DFI Retail Group skyrocketed 9.18 percent, Genting Singapore rallied 1.35 percent, Hongkong Land gained 0.32 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.44 percent, Keppel Ltd fell 0.24 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.12 percent, SATS strengthened 0.90 percent, Seatrium Limited surged 2.09 percent, SembCorp Industries dipped 0.13 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering stumbled 2.13 percent, SingTel sank 0.48 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.62 percent, UOL Group improved 0.58 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.67 percent, Yangzijiang Financial increased 0.53 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding accelerated 1.63 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened with modest gains on Wednesday but continued to climb as the day progressed, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 507.85 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 45,010.29, while the NASDAQ jumped 127.33 points or 0.61 percent to close at a record 21,020.02 and the S&P 500 gained 49.29 points or 0.78 percent to end at 6,358.91, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump announced trade deals with Japan and the Philippines.

The announcement of these trade deals spurred expectations of further trade agreements as the Aug. 1 deadline nears.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. pulled back by more than expected in the month of June.

Crude oil prices dipped slightly on Wednesday as uncertainty persists in U.S. trade talks ahead of the deadline. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery eased $0.06 to $65.25 per barrel.