Continued Support Called For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting almost 55 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,240-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher following gains from the industrials and REITS, while the financials and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 24.71 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 3,242.85 after trading between 3,210.35 and 3,248.37.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rallied 2.25 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 1.02 percent, CapitaLand Investment strengthened 1.49 percent, City Developments rose 0.86 percent, Comfort DelGro gained 0.90 percent, DBS Group lost 0.51 percent, Emperador added 0.98 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 1.58 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.24 percent, Keppel Corp skyrocketed 5.38 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 2.41 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust gathered 0.45 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 3.61 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.40 percent, SATS perked 0.39 percent, SembCorp Industries improved 1.05 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.81 percent, SingTel climbed 1.20 percent, Thai Beverage accelerated 1.77 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.52 percent, Wilmar International increased 1.00 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.47 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 2.34 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 428.73 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 34,408.06, while the NASDAQ jumped 156.34 points or 1.15 percent to end at 15,826.35 and the S&P 500 climbed 53.25 points or 1.22 percent to close at 4,425.84.

The rally on Wall Street reflected optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of some U.S. economic data. While the Federal Reserve forecast further rate hikes, traders seem hopeful the central bank will not follow through.

The optimism stemmed from a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims held at their highest level last week since October 2021. A separate Labor Department report said import prices in the U.S. fell more than expected in May, also generating optimism about the outlook for inflation.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday, buoyed by reports suggesting a jump in demand from Chinese refineries and additional stimulus from the Chinese central bank. The dollar's weakness also contributed to the jumped in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $2.35 or 3.4 percent at $70.62 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release May figures for non-oil domestic exports later this morning, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 0.8 percent on month and 9.1 percent on year after rising 2.7 percent on month and sinking 9.8 percent on year in April. The trade surplus is pegged at SGD5.982 billion, up from SGD4.713 billion in the previous month.