Singapore Stock Market May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 80 points or 2.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,275-point plateau and it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic because of an improving outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the industrials.

For the day, the index added 20.98 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 3,275.24 after trading between 3,259.20 and 3,278.15.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT sank 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Investment skidded 1.18 percent, City Developments dipped 0.29 percent, DBS Group collected 0.65 percent, Emperador rallied 1.98 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 1.05 percent, Hongkong Land eased 0.27 percent, Keppel Corp and UOL Group both rose 0.15 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust lost 0.60 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust fell 0.59 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation climbed 1.60 percent, Seatrium Limited slumped 0.70 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.36 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.27 percent, Thai Beverage jumped 1.72 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.47 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shed 0.67 percent and Wilmar International, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, SATS, SingTel, Comfort DelGro and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened firmly higher on Wednesday but faded as the day progressed, finishing with only slight gains.

The Dow climbed 109.31 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 35,061.21, while the NASDAQ rose 4.42 points or 0.03 percent to close at 14,358.02 and the S&P 500 perked 10.74 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,565.72.

The strength on Wall Street extended the current upward trend, with the Dow closing higher for the eighth consecutive session. Encouraging inflation data helped trigger the recent advance, as traders grow increasingly optimistic the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes.

Upbeat earnings news has added to the positive sentiment, with regional banks U.S. Bancorp (USB), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Citizens Financial (CFG) posting standout gains after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in housing starts last month.

Oil futures pared early gains and settled lower on Wednesday after data showed a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a stronger dollar weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August fell $0.40 or 0.5 percent at $75.35 a barrel.