Singapore Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 75 points or 2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,785-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, supported by oil and technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index jumped 34.78 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 3,786.13 after trading between 3,778.40 and 3,800.16.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sank 0.51 percent, while CapitaLand Investment rose 0.36 percent, City Developments strengthened 1.34 percent, Comfort DelGro increased 0.68 percent, DBS Group rallied 2.26 percent, Genting Singapore climbed 1.28 percent, Keppel DC REIT and Jardine Matheson both jumped 1.35 percent, Keppel Ltd advanced 1.04 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slumped 1.29 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation perked 0.06 percent, SATS added 0.53 percent, Seatrium Limited spiked 2.56 percent, SembCorp Industries accelerated 2.46 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.44 percent, Thai Beverage surged 3.48 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.97 percent, Yangzijiang Financial dropped 1.23 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 3.29 percent and Hongkong Land, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, SingTel, Emperador and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday, although the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were able to break into the green to record closing highs by the day's end.

The Dow sank 76.47 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 44,705.53, while the NASDAQ added 76.96 points or 0.40 percent to close at 19,480.91 and the S&P rose 2.73 points or 0.05 percent to end at 6,049.

A relatively light day on the U.S. economic front may have kept traders on the sidelines, although the Labor Department reported that job openings increased by more than expected in October.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on private sector employment, service sector activity and consumer sentiment as well as remarks by several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The data and remarks could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Tuesday on easing concerns about excess supply on hopes that OPEC will delay plans to return its production cuts by a few more months. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $1.84 or 2.7 percent at $69.94 a barrel.