Singapore Bourse May Spin Its Wheels On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, improving almost 40 points or 1.2 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,280-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the trusts and properties and mixed performances from the financials and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 7.29 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,278.57 after trading between 3,274.96 and 3,293.47.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and Wilmar International both improved 1.46 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust surged 3.02 percent, CapitaLand Investment added 0.82 percent, City Developments jumped 1.60 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.80 percent, DBS Group eased 0.03 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 2.23 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.54 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 2.42 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 1.35 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gathered 0.62 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation perked 0.16 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.30 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rallied 1.50 percent, SingTel tumbled 2.26 percent, Thai Beverage gained 0.74 percent, United Overseas Bank slumped 1.09 percent, Yangzijiang Financial strengthened 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding climbed 1.47 percent and Emperador, SATS and Hongkong Land were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed that way before tumbling after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Dow dropped 142.29 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 33,966.35, while the NASDAQ sank 85.93 points or 0.76 percent to close at 11,170.89 and the S&P 500 lost 24.33 points or 0.61 percent to end at 3,995.32.

The lower close on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to slow the pace of interest rate increases but still signaled further rate hikes ahead.

After raising interest rates by 75 basis points at four consecutive meetings, the Fed announced its decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to a target range of 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

But the central bank reiterated that it anticipates ongoing increases in rates will be appropriate. The economic projections provided along with the announcement now suggest the Fed expects rates to be raised higher than forecast in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by an upward revision in demand forecast by the International Energy Agency due to the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline following a massive leak. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.5 percent at $77.28 a barrel.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed that way before tumbling after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Dow dropped 142.29 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 33,966.35, while the NASDAQ sank 85.93 points or 0.76 percent to close at 11,170.89 and the S&P 500 lost 24.33 points or 0.61 percent to end at 3,995.32.

The lower close on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to slow the pace of interest rate increases but still signaled further rate hikes ahead.

After raising interest rates by 75 basis points at four consecutive meetings, the Fed announced its decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to a target range of 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

But the central bank reiterated that it anticipates ongoing increases in rates will be appropriate. The economic projections provided along with the announcement now suggest the Fed expects rates to be raised higher than forecast in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by an upward revision in demand forecast by the International Energy Agency due to the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline following a massive leak. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.5 percent at $77.28 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release Q3 numbers for unemployment later today; the jobless rate in Q2 was 2.1 percent.