Additional Support Predicted For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in six straight sessions, jumping almost 70 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just shy of the 3,225-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the property stocks.

For the day, the index improved 9.41 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 3,223.09 after trading between 3,217.25 and 3,228.44.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.53 percent, CapitaLand Investment retreated 1.28 percent, City Developments rose 0.30 percent, Comfort DelGro and SATS both skidded 0.78 percent, DBS Group added 0.42 percent, Hongkong Land spiked 1.42 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rallied 1.35 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.64 percent, Seatrium Limited jumped 1.40 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.18 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.52 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding slumped 1.13 percent and SingTel, Thai Beverage, Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial, Emperador, Genting Singapore, Keppel Corp, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

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

The Dow jumped 292.69 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 34,852.67, while the NASDAQ surged 238.63 points or 1.74 percent to end at 13,943.76 and the S&P 500 rallied 64.32 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4.497.63.

The strength on Wall Street came as the latest batch of U.S. economic data helped ease recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated more than anticipated in August, according to a report released by the Conference Board. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. decreased to 8.8 million on the last business day of July.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday with traders weighing the likely impact of the Hurricane Idalia on energy operations in the Gulf of Mexico, while a weak dollar also contributed to the uptick. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October climbed $1.06 or 1.3 percent at $81.16 a barrel.