The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight trading days, advancing more than 70 points or 2 percent in its way to a fresh 10-year closing high. The Straits Times Index now rests just shy of the 3,590-point plateau and it's poised to open higher again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, thanks to solid earnings news and a jump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and plantations were capped by weakness from the properties and a mixed picture from the industrials.
For the day, the index picked up 22.65 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 3,592.08 after trading between 3,575.98 and 3,594.70. Volume was 2.5 billion shares worth 1.8 billion Singapore dollars. There were 325 gainers and 182 decliners.
Among the actives, Keppel Corp surged 4.83 percent, while SembCorp Industries soared 4.14 percent, Comfort DelGro spiked 2.38 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust tumbled 1.55 percent, United Overseas Bank jumped 1.54 percent, DBS Group collected 1.51 percent, Golden Agri-Resources climbed 1.32 percent, Hutchison Port Holdings skidded 1.22 percent, Ascendas REIT dropped 1.08 percent, Wilmar International added 0.63 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shed 0.62 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.61 percent, Thai Beverage advanced 0.54 percent, SingTel fell 0.28 percent and City Developments and Genting Singapore were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, allowing the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to reach new record closing highs.
The Dow eased 3.79 points or 0.01 percent to 26,210.81, while the NASDAQ climbed 52.26 points or 0.71 percent to 7,460.29 and the S&P 500 rose 6.16 points or 0.22 percent to 2,839.13.
The strength on Wall Street came as lawmakers managed to re-open the government following a brief shutdown, passing a stopgap bill funding the government until February 8th.
Upbeat earnings news has also generated buying interest, with Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Travelers (TRV) reporting better than expected quarterly results.
Crude oil prices were higher Tuesday as OPEC officials continued to signal their determination to re-balance oil markets via supply cuts. February WTI oil climbed 90 cents or 1.4 percent to $64.47/bbl, the highest since December 2014.
by RTT Staff Writer
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