The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 30 points or 1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 2,935-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of the approaching Lunar New Year holiday. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The STI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the properties and industrials, while the financials came in mixed.
For the day, the index rose 3.87 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 2,935.27 after trading between 2,924.80 and 2,959.66. Volume was 2.38 billion shares worth 1.30 billion Singapore dollars. There were 255 gainers and 190 decliners.
Among the actives, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 6.67 percent, while SingTel soared 2.55 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 1.79 percent, CapitaLand rallied 1.60 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust spiked 1.54 percent, SATS accelerated 1.48 percent, Keppel Corp and Singapore Airlines both jumped 1.39 percent, Ascendas REIT climbed 1.20 percent, Wilmar International gathered 1.12 percent, DBS Group tumbled 0.84 percent, City Developments perked 0.83 percent, SembCorp Industries advanced 0.60 percent, Dairy Farm International added 0.46 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.27 percent, Singapore Exchange rose 0.20 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.10 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.04 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Singapore Press Holdings and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks shook off a weak open on Tuesday to finish mixed and little changed following recent strength.
The Dow slid 9.93 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 31,375.83, while the NASDAQ added 20.06 points or 0.14 percent to end at 14,007.70 and the S&P 500 eased 4.36 points or 0.11 percent to close at 3,911.23.
Profit taking contributed to some initial weakness on Wall Street, although selling pressure was relatively subdued as traders worry about missing out on further upside.
Optimism about more fiscal stimulus also helped support the markets along with the recent slowdown in coronavirus infection rates.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a seventh straight session amid easing worries about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.39 or 0.7 percent at $58.36 a barrel, hitting a fresh 13-month high.
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