Singapore Stock Market Expected To Open In The Green On Monday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Friday's holiday for Vesak Day, the Singapore stock market had halted the six-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 60 points or 1.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,165-point plateau and it's poised to add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on solid U.S. employment data and easing fears of recession. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index added 7.50 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 3,166.30 after trading between 3,155.52 and 3,176.17.

Among the actives, City Developments added 0.44 percent, while Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.82 percent, DBS Group spiked 0.99 percent, Emperador declined 0.97 percent, Genting Singapore retreated 0.99 percent, Hongkong Land advanced 0.47 percent, Keppel Corp dropped 0.79 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust fell 0.28 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.33 percent, SATS plummeted 3.49 percent, SembCorp Industries soared 3.18 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slid 0.27 percent, SingTel gained 0.40 percent, United Overseas Bank shed 0.39 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.77 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding slumped 0.81 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

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

The Dow surged 701.16 points or 2.12 percent to finish at 33,762.76, while the NASDAQ jumped 139.77 points or 1,07 percent to end at 13,240.77 and the S&P 500 spiked 61.35 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,282.37. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both jumped 2.0 percent and the S&P climbed 1.8 percent.

The extended rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment surged by much more than expected in the month of May.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to news the Senate voted to pass the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling late Thursday night, and President Joe Biden has since made it official with his signature.

The passage of the bill eliminated the threat of a potentially disastrous default by the U.S. government, which had been hanging over the markets in recent weeks.

Oil prices rallied on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the passage of the debt ceiling bill and amid speculation OPEC may announce a cut in production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $1.64 or 2.3 percent at $71.74 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release April numbers for retail sales later today; in March, sales were up 2.2 percent on month and 4.5 percent on year.