Singapore Stock Market Expected To Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished lower in three consecutive trading days, sinking more than 60 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,140-point plateau although it may halt its slide on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology and oil companies expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties and mixed picture from the industrials and financials.

For the day, the index eased 2.44 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 3,139.78 after trading between 3,127.45 and 3,150.20.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT skidded 0.69 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.51 percent, CapitaLand Investment added 0.34 percent, City Developments dipped 0.16 percent, DBS Group rose 0.25 percent, Emperador stumbled 0.98 percent, Genting Singapore declined 1.02 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.32 percent, Keppel DC REIT retreated 1.10 percent, Keppel Ltd slid 0.29 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust tanked 1.23 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surrendered 1.22 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.63 percent, SATS lost 0.35 percent, Seatrium Limited advanced 0.88 percent, SembCorp Industries dropped 0.55 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plunged 1.31 percent, SingTel shed 0.42 percent, Thai Beverage slumped 0.96 percent, UOL Group jumped 1.47 percent, Wilmar International tumbled 1.19 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 1.54 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rallied 1.27 percent and Comfort DelGro and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but all ended up firmly in the green by the day's end.

The Dow advanced 201.94 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 37,468.61, while the NASDAQ rallied 200.03 points or 1.35 percent to close at 15,055.65 and the S&P 500 gained 41.73 points or 0.88 percent to end at 4,780.94.

The rebound on Wall Street came despite a continued increase by treasury yields, which moved higher after the Labor Department noted an unexpected weekly decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

Tech stocks helped lead the way higher on Wall Street, with shares of Apple (AAPL) jumping 3.3 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

A rally by semiconductor stocks also contributed to the surge by the NASDAQ as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 3.4 percent. Networking, computer hardware and software stocks also showed notable moves to the upside.

Oil prices climbed higher Thursday, lifted by data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, and on higher forecasts for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February rallied $1.52 at $74.08 a barrel.