(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,260-point plateau and it's looking at continued strength on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with strength expected from the technology and banking stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financials, industrials and properties, while the REITs were soft.
For the day, the index rose 7.00 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,262.54 after trading between 3,242.49 and 3,270.38.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dipped 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Investment and City Developments both lost 0.55 percent, DBS Group eased 0.09 percent, Emperador tumbled 0.98 percent, Genting Singapore declined 0.91 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 1.18 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.36 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust dropped 0.56 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust fell 0.43 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.58 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was down 0.16 percent, SATS skyrocketed 8.24 percent, SembCorp Industries slid 0.23 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering climbed 0.83 percent, SingTel gained 0.41 percent, Thai Beverage advanced 0.78 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.64 percent, Wilmar International added 0.48 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 1.37 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.48 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened sharply higher and stayed that way throughout the session.
The Dow jumped 323.35 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 32,717.60, while the NASDAQ surged 210.16 points or 1.79 percent to end at 11,926.24 and the S&P 500 spiked 56.54 points or 1.42 percent to end at 4,027.81.
The rally on Wall Street reflected a rebound by technology stocks, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ recovering from the pullback seen early in the week to hit its best closing level in over a month.
Semiconductor stocks led the recovery in the tech sector, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.3 percent. Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
The markets also benefited from a continued easing of concerns about contagion from the recent turmoil in the banking sector.
Oil futures failed to hold early gains and ended modestly lower on Wednesday, despite data showing a drop in crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May faded $0.23 or 0.3 percent at $72.97 a barrel, coming off a high of $74.37 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
