Win Streak May Continue For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Tines Index now rests just above the 3,800-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the technology and oil stocks, in particular. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished barely higher on Friday as gains from the properties and industrials were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index perked 1.02 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,801.03 after trading between 3,792.20 and 3,821.73.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 1.03 percent, while CapitaLand Investment rallied 1.13 percent, City Developments spiked 1.37 percent, Comfort DelGro increased 0.68 percent, DBS Group sank 0.77 percent, Genting Singapore shed 0.65 percent, Hongkong Land rose 0.45 percent, Keppel DC REIT advanced 0.90 percent, Keppel Ltd perked 0.15 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 1.64 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust accelerated 1.34 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust and UOL Group both improved 0.78 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.42 percent, SATS jumped 1.10 percent, Seatrium Limited skyrocketed 5.80 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.54 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering strengthened 1.08 percent, Thai Beverage surged 1.79 percent, Wilmar International added 0.65 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gathered 0.34 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, SingTel, Emperador and DFI Retail Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 339.83 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 42,732.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 340.88 points or 1.77 percent to close at 19,621.68 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.92 points or 1.26 percent to end at 5,942.47.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow slid 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both fell 0.5 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness. Some traders also remained away from their desks following the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity contracted at a slower rate in December.

Oil prices climbed higher Friday amid optimism for the outlook for demand on recent data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed higher by $0.83 or 1.13 percent at $73.96 a barrel.