The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting just over 5 points or 0.2 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,135-point plateau although it figures to run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests consolidation, with the volatile technology stocks in particular expected to weigh. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the industrials and trusts and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index was up 1.57 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 3,133.31 after trading between 3,121.60 and 3,136.92. Volume was 1.89 billion shares worth 1.88 billion Singapore dollars. There were 255 decliners and 227 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT jumped 1.35 percent, while CapitaLand sank 1.07 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 0.95 percent, City Developments shed 0.51 percent, Comfort DelGro and Hongkong Land both dropped 0.60 percent, Dairy Farm International skidded 1.56 percent, DBS Group collected 0.35 percent, Genting Singapore plummeted 2.13 percent, Keppel Corp gained 0.77 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust rallied 1.46 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust spiked 2.14 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.09 percent, SATS tanked 2.00 percent, SembCorp Industries climbed 1.13 percent, Singapore Airlines tumbled 1.95 percent, Singapore Exchange lost 0.50 percent, Singapore Press Holdings soared 2.92 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.78 percent, SingTel rose 0.42 percent, Thai Beverage plunged 2.05 percent, United Overseas Bank dipped 0.16 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.20 percent and Wilmar international was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but then headed south and eventually finished in the red.
The Dow eased 3.09 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 32,420.06, while the NASDAQ plummeted 265.81 points or 2.01 percent to end at 12,961.89 and the S&P 500 lost 21.38 points or 0.55 percent to close at 3,889.14.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies contributed to the sell-off by technology stocks, which have seen considerable volatility in recent sessions.
Unlike previous sessions, the weakness in the tech sector came amid a continued pullback by treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note moved lower for the third straight day and has now fallen 14 basis points since reaching a fourteen-month intraday high last Thursday.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly decreased in February.
Crude oil futures surged on Wednesday after a container ship got struck in the Suez Canal and raised concerns about possible supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $3.42 or 5.9 percent at $61.18 a barrel.
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