Singapore Shares Expected To Remain Rangebound On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 0.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,150-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on solid economic data and a spike in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The STI finished slightly lower following losses from the properties, gains from the industrials and a mixed bag from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 5.69 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,147.64 after trading between 3,140.47 and 3,154.67.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT tumbled 2.02 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust surrendered 2.49 percent, CapitaLand Investment sank 0.68 percent, City Developments declined 1.43 percent, Comfort DelGro slumped 1.42 percent, DBS Group rose 0.25 percent, Genting Singapore lost 0.51 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.63 percent, Keppel DC REIT tanked 2.70 percent, Keppel Ltd added 0.58 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust plunged 2.72 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust stumbled 1.21 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plummeted 4.29 percent, SATS gained 0.36 percent, Seatrium Limited skidded 0.94 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.48 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.26 percent, SingTel dropped 0.83 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.91 percent, Yangzijiang Financial retreated 1.54 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rallied 1.22 percent and Emperador, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Thai Beverage and Jardine Matheson were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher, gave ground midday but still finished well in the green.

The Dow jumped 242.74 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 38,049.13, while the NASDAQ added 28.58 points or 0.18 percent to close at 15,510.50 and the S&P 500 rose 25.61 points or 0.53 percent to end at a fresh record high of 4,894.16.

The early strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Commerce Department report showing stronger than expected U.S. economic growth as well as a slowdown in the pace of inflation in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to Friday's report on personal income and spending, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, continuing to benefit from Wednesday's data showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventory. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March surged $2.27 or 3 percent at $77.36 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will provide December data for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.9 percent on month and 1.0 percent on year. That follows the 7.8 percent monthly decline and the 1.0 percent yearly gain in November.