Singapore Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 45 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,015-point plateau although the rally may stall on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index added 6.86 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 3,015.24 after trading between 2,995.28 and 3,028.89. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 1.2 billion Singapore dollars. There were 279 gainers and 214 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.77 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 1.05 percent, CapitaLand Investment dropped 0.95 percent, City Developments soared 1.87 percent, Comfort DelGro improved 0.80 percent, DBS Group gained 0.55 percent, Genting Singapore lost 0.63 percent, Keppel Corp increased 0.76 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rallied 1.22 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust fell 0.44 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 2.00 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.34 percent, SATS shed 0.75 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.42 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.31 percent, SingTel sank 0.82 percent, United Overseas Bank dipped 0.23 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.84 percent, Yangzijiang Financial accelerated 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.64 percent and Hongkong Land, Emperador, Thai Beverage and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release September data for import, exports and producer prices later today, as well as unemployment data for the third quarter of 2022. In August, import prices were up 12.8 percent on year, export prices jumped an annual 14.1 percent and producer prices surged 17.3 percent on year. The jobless rate was 2.1 percent in Q2.