The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,300-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the financial shares were offset by weakness from the industrials.
For the day, the index perked 4.20 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 3,296.89 after trading between 3,285.30 and 3,324.77.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment climbed 0.79 percent, while City Developments retreated 1.46 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.67 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.86 percent, Emperador rallied1.18 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 1.12 percent, Keppel DC REIT tumbled 1.75 percent, Keppel Ltd dropped 0.87 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust jumped 1.85 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust declined 1.32 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.74 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.63 percent, SATS added 0.40 percent, Seatrium Limited plummeted 3.06 percent, SembCorp Industries stumbled 1.30 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering skidded 0.99 percent, Thai Beverage tanked 2.02 percent, Wilmar International shed 0.62 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plunged2.27 percent and Hongkong Land, Yangzijiang Financial, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and SingTel were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow jumped 322.37 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 38,225.66, while the NASDAQ rallied 235.48 points or 1.51 percent to close at 15,840.96 and the S&P 500 advanced 45.81 points or 0.91 percent to end at 5,064.20.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders breathed a sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve\'s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Traders had expressed some concerns the Fed\'s next monetary policy move could actually be an interest rate hike rather than a cut, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell post-meeting alleviated those worries.
Earlier in the day, stocks saw volatility as traders reacted to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing a surge by labor costs in the first quarter of 2024. A separate Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in unchanged last week, while a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in March.
Oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled slightly lower on Thursday amid easing concerns over supply disruptions and worries about the outlook for economic growth and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.05 at $78.95 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will provide March data for retail sales later today; in February, sales were up 3.0 percent on month and 8.4 percent on year.