Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, improving more than 45 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,150-point plateau although it's likely to open under pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on recession fears and concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were modestly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The STI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and the property stocks, while the industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 14.33 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 3,153.23 after trading between 3,145.80 and 3,161.65. Volume was 1.66 billion shares worth 1.15 billion Singapore dollars. There were 307 gainers and 230 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.37 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust surged 2.08 percent, CapitaLand Investment spiked 2.01 percent, City Developments added 0.64 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.78 percent, DBS Group was up 0.12 percent, Emperador soared 2.06 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 1.26 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 1.76 percent, Keppel Corp perked 0.29 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust strengthened 1.71 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust improved 0.84 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust rallied 1.94 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.50 percent, SATS slumped 1.34 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 1.29 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.57 percent, SingTel tumbled 2.30 percent, United Overseas Bank climbed 1.34 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.53 percent, Yangzijiang Financial retreated 1.33 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened sharply lower but clawed their way back as the day progressed to end only slightly in the red.

The Dow shed 42.45 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 30,273.87, while the NASDAQ lost 27.77 points or 0.25 percent to end at 11,148.64 and the S&P 500 dipped 7.65 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,783.28.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as central banks around the world appear poised to continue raising interest in the months ahead, potentially tipping the global economy into a recession as they combat elevated inflation.

A rebound by treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note regaining ground after easing in the two previous sessions. Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders may feel the economic worries have been overdone.

Upbeat U.S. economic data has added to worries the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raising interest rates going into the end of the year as payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after OPEC agreed to impose output cuts, aiming to spur a recovery in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November climbed $1.24 or 1.4 percent at $87.76 a barrel.