The Singapore stock market moved lower again on Thursday, one session after ending the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 115 points or 3.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,155-point plateau and it's predicted to open in the green again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the ability of financial markets. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The STI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials and industrials, while the properties were mixed and the REITs offered support.
For the day, the index lost 17.38 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 3,155.54 after trading between 3,134.03 and 3,176.67.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT slid 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust soared 2.13 percent, CapitaLand Investment slumped 0.86 percent, City Developments improved 0.85 percent, Comfort DelGro plunged 1.69 percent, DBS Group declined 1.27 percent, Emperador advanced 0.97 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 1.94 percent, Hongkong Land tanked 1.64 percent, Keppel Corp lost 0.56 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rose 0.58 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust surged 2.60 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 1.19 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Keppel DC REIT both retreated 0.98 percent, SATS jumped 1.20 percent, SembCorp Industries eased 0.25 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was down 0.29 percent, SingTel fell 0.42 percent, Thai Beverage added 0.81 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.71 percent, Wilmar International gained 0.74 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 2.67 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.61 percent
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages quickly shook off a soft start on Thursday and accelerated firmly into positive territory, finishing near session highs.
The Dow surged 371.98 points or 1,17 percent to finish at 32,246.55, while the NASDAQ rallied 283.22 points or 2.48 percent to end at 11,717.28 and the S&P 500 jumped68.35 points or 1.76 percent to close at 3,960.28.
Stocks rallied following news that 11 banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) have pledged $30 billion to support First Republic Bank (FRC) to shore up the beleaguered lender.
News that Credit Suisse will borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity and investor confidence also helped ease recent concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back more than expected last week. Also, the Labor Department reported that import prices edged slightly lower in February.
Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday on reports that Saudi Arabia's energy minister and Russia's deputy prime minister met to discuss about ways to enhance market stability. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April climbed $0.74 or 1.1 percent at $68.35 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will release February figures for non-oil domestic exports later this morning. NODX are expected to slip 0.5 percent on month and 16.0 percent on year after adding 0.9 percent on month and tumbling 25.0 percent on year in January - when the trade surplus was SGD6.303 billion.
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