The Singapore stock market rebounded again on Thursday, one day after halting the four-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 35 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,400-point plateau although it may head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and trusts.
For the day, the index gained 13.44 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 3,404.47 after trading between 3,379.07 and 3,414.91.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment rallied 1.13 percent, while City Developments fell 0.38 percent, Comfort DelGro climbed 0.71 percent, DBS Group rose 0.36 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 1.27 percent, Hongkong Land soared 2,45 percent, Keppel Ltd dropped 0.82 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust added 0.41 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.21 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.36 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 0.85 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering sank 0.45 percent, SingTel surged 3.07 percent, Wilmar International retreated 0.95 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained 0.40 percent and Emperador, Keppel DC REIT, SATS, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Financial, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and spent much of the day solidly in the green - before a late slump saw them end mixed and little changed.
The Dow added 243.63 points or 0.59 percent to finish at a record 41,335.05, while the NASDAQ sank 39.60 points or 0.23 percent to close at 17,516.43 and the S&P 500 eased 0.22 points or 0.00 percent to end at 5,591.96.
The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to the latest U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing the U.S. economy unexpectedly grew more than previously estimated in the second quarter.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower last week.
Buying interest waned in the latter part of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of closely watched readings on consumer price inflation later today.
The downturn by the tech-heavy NASDAQ also came as shares of Nvidia (NVDA) slumped even though the company reported Q2 results that exceeded expectations and forecast fiscal third quarter revenues above estimates.
Oil prices settled sharply higher on Thursday on supply concerns amid reports Libya has shut off production and halted exports at several ports. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October climbed $1.39 or 1.87 percent at $75.91 a barrel.