Win Streak May End For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, improving more than 105 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,860-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the red on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and surging oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the industrials were offset by weakness from the financial sector and a mixed picture from the properties.

For the day, the index perked 3.17 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 4,863.81 after trading between 4,844.14 and 4,868.49.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT fell 0.39 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.43 percent, CapitaLand Investment slipped 0.35 percent, City Developments shed 0.55 percent, DBS Group collected 0.13 percent, DFI Retail Group skyrocketed 9.20 percent, Genting Singapore and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust both dropped 0.73 percent, Hongkong Land climbed 0.96 percent, Keppel DC REIT rallied 1.34 percent, Keppel Ltd jumped 1.65 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust improved 0.83 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dipped 0.33 percent, SATS spiked 2.49 percent, Seatrium Limited surged 3.46 percent, SembCorp Industries accelerated 1.75 percent, Singapore Airlines gained 0.30 percent, Singapore Exchange was up 0.66 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering soared 3.16 percent, SingTel sank 0.60 percent, Thai Beverage vaulted 1.15 percent, United Overseas Bank lost 0.44 percent, UOL Group rose 0.09 percent, Wilmar International increased 0.82 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding expanded 0.49 percent and Mapletree Industrial Trust was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages spent much of Wednesday's trade bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.

The Dow dropped 289.24 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 47,417.27, while the NASDAQ rose 19.03 points or 0.08 percent to end at 22,716.13 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.68 points or 0.08 percent to close at 6,775.80.

The recent volatility has largely been driven by big swings by the price of crude oil, which rebounded on Wednesday.

Crude oil is regained ground after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it has received reports of three vessels being struck by projectiles off Iran's coast, adding to worries about transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday as the Middle East conflict fails to show any indication of calming down soon. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $4.21 or 5.04 percent at $87.66 per barrel.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Labor Department showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in February.