The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 70 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 2,560-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, thanks to support from technology stocks and decent economic data. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index climbed 26.41 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 2,559.10 after trading between 2,548.19 and 2,566.70. Volume was 1.63 billion shares worth 1.32 billion Singapore dollars. There were 238 gainers and 193 decliners.
Among the actives, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.74 percent, while DBS Group soared 2.87 percent, Singapore Airlines spiked 2.32 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation accelerated 1.85 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 1.75 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust tumbled 1.58 percent, Keppel Corp jumped 1.50 percent, Hongkong Land Holdings skidded 1.34 percent, Singapore Exchange climbed 1.14 percent, SATS sank 1.09 percent, City Developments dropped 1.08 percent, Singapore Press Holdings shed 0.89 percent, Thai Beverage lost 0.79 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.72 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust added 0.62 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.55 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust fell 0.47 percent, Wilmar International slid 0.42 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering eased 0.31 percent and Genting Singapore, CapitaLand Mall Trust, Ascendas REIT, SingTel and CapitaLand all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks showed a lack of direction in Thursday's early trade before showing a strong move to the upside in the afternoon, sending the NASDAQ to another fresh record closing high.
The Dow added 185.46 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 27,386.98, while the NASDAQ jumped 109.67 points or 1.00 percent to end at 11,108.07 and the S&P 500 rose 21.39 points or 0.64 percent to close at 3,349.16.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected substantial gains by big-name tech companies like Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Netflix (NFLX) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Positive sentiment was generated by a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back more than expected last week. The Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on July's employment situation later today.
Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, as Democrats and Republicans continued to negotiate over a new coronavirus relief bill, with both sides suggesting an agreement will eventually be reached.
Crude oil futures snapped a four-day winning streak and ended lower on Thursday as traders weighed crude demand and supply levels amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.24 or 0.6 percent at $41.95 a barrel.
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