Higher Open Predicted For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 150 points or 4.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,140-point plateau and it's looking at continued strength on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued bargain hunting, particularly among the technology stocks and energy companies. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow that lead.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday with gains across the board, especially the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index climbed 31.81 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 3,138.90 after trading between 3,128.62 and 3,154.30. Volume was 919.8 million shares worth 966.49 million Singapore dollars. There were 277 gainers and 88 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT strengthened 1.89 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gathered 1.05 percent, CapitaLand Investment surged 2.96 percent, City Developments soared 2.78 percent, DBS Group perked 0.69 percent, Emperador rose 1.04 percent, Genting Singapore improved 1.27 percent, Hongkong Land added 1.11 percent, Keppel Corp increased 1.17 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust accelerated 2.34 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rallied 2.14 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 1.31 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation climbed 1.45 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.32 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was up 0.57 percent, SingTel rose 0.38 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.31 percent, Wilmar International gained 1.08 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 2.74 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 1.96 percent and Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage and SATS were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive for the second straight day as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow surged 825.43 points or 2.80 percent to finish at 30,316.32, while the NASDAQ soared 360.97 points or 3.34 percent to end at 11,176.41 and the S&P 500 spiked 112.50 points or 3.06 percent to close at 3,790.93.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as investors scooped up bargains following a brutal September. The rally was also fueled by a lower dollar and falling treasury yields.

Traders also continue to bet that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of its interest rate hikes on the heels of some disappointing economic data earlier in the week.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session as traders continued to bet on hopes the OPEC will agree to a large cut in crude output later today. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November settled at $86.52 a barrel, up $2.89 or 3.5 percent.

Closer to home, Singapore will release August data for retail sales and September results for its private sector PMI from S&P Global later today. In July, retail sales were up 0.6 percent on month and 7.86 percent on year, while the index score was 56.0 in August.