Additional Support Anticipated For Singapore Shares

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 40 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,255-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on bargain hunting and expectations for solid earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The STI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the trusts and properties were offset by weakness from the financials and industrials.

For the day, the index picked up 2.22 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 3,256.19 after trading between 3,246.34 and 3,262.53.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.75 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust jumped 1.01 percent, CapitaLand Investment perked 0.28 percent, City Developments added 0.86 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.61 percent, Genting Singapore rose 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land was up 0.42 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 0.97 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust spiked 1.85 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.92 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.41 percent, SATS improved 0.71 percent, SembCorp Industries dropped 0.88 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gathered 0.60 percent, Thai Beverage retreated 1.46 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.13 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding sank 0.72 percent and Wilmar International, Mapletree Logistics Trust, DBS Group, Emperador, Yangzijiang Financial, SingTel and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained solidly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 526.74 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 33,376.48, while the NASDAQ spiked 162.26 points or 1.54 percent to end at 10,709.37 and the S&P 500 jumped 56.82 points or 1.49 percent to close at 3,878.44.

The rally on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from bargain hunting and upbeat earnings news from companies like Nike (NKE) and FedEx (FDX).

In economic news, the Conference Board reported a significant improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in December. But the National Association of Realtors noted a continued slump in U.S. existing home sales in November.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $2.06 at $78.29 a barrel.