(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 10 points or 0.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,235-point plateau and it's expected to be stuck in neutral on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and a mixed picture from the industrial issues.
For the day, the index rose 4.34 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 3,237.02 after trading between 3,219.90 and 3,239.43. Volume was 1.89 billion shares worth 960 million Singapore dollars. There were 233 decliners and 231 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT sank 0.33 percent, while City Developments lost 0.14 percent, Dairy Farm International and Genting Singapore both gained 0.60 percent, DBS Group advanced 0.81 percent, Keppel Corp and Venture Corporation both spiked 0.94 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust perked 0.47 percent, SATS rose 0.49 percent, Singapore Airlines was up 0.19 percent, Singapore Exchange tumbled 0.84 percent, Singapore Press Holdings improved 0.42 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.76 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.22 percent, Wilmar International skidded 0.70 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 0.78 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, SembCorp Industries, Thai Beverage, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, SingTel and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.
The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.
The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy's (M), BJ's Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl's (KSS).
Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.
In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will release current account data for the third quarter of 2021 later today; in the three months prior, the current account deficit was $2.2 billion.
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