(RTTNews) – Singapore’s stock market has alternated positive and negative finishes over the past five trading days since ending a two-day dip that saw it fall more than 25 points or 0.8 percent. The Straits Times Index is now just above the 3,100-point plateau and is expected to rise further on Wednesday.
The global forecast for Asian markets is mixed to higher on an improving interest rate outlook. European markets edged lower and US markets rose, with Asian markets expected to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday after gains from the real estate and industrial sectors, while financial stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index added 12.11 points or 0.39 percent to end at 3,102.31 after trading between 3,088.08 and 3,109.06.
Among active companies, Ascendas REIT rose 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.53 percent, CapitaLand Investment rose 0.67 percent, City Developments and Singapore Technologies Engineering both rose 0.80 percent, Comfort DelGro rose 0.72 percent, DBS Group rallied 0.57 percent, Genting Singapore rose 1.03 percent, Hongkong Land rose 0.92 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust improved 0.43 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.32 percent, SATS fell 0.37 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 3.26 percent, SingTel rose 0.85 percent, Wilmar International plunged 1.42 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding added 0.68 percent and Keppel Corp , Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Emperador, Thai Beverage, Seatrium Limited, Yangzijiang Financial and Mapletree Logistics Trust remained unchanged.
Wall Street’s lead is bullish, as the major averages shrugged off a soft open, moving quickly into the green and finishing well in positive territory.
The Dow Jones rose 173.01 points or 0.48 percent to close at 36,577.94, while the NASDAQ rose 100.91 points or 0.70 percent to close at 14,533.40 and the S&P 500 rose 21.26 points or 0.46 percent gained to end at 4,643.70.
The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a long-awaited report from the Labor Department showing that U.S. consumer prices rose in November in line with economists’ expectations.
The data has increased optimism about the interest rate outlook ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later today.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement and projections for signs that the central bank could start cutting rates next year.
Crude oil prices fell to a six-month low on Tuesday, reflecting continued concerns about the outlook for fuel demand and worries about possible oversupply in the market. West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended January $2.71, or 3.8 percent, lower at $68.61 per barrel.
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