The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,290-point plateau although the rally figures to stall on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with weakness expected from the technology stocks and oil companies. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and the industrials.
For the day, the index rose 10.88 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 3,294.82 after trading between 3,269.45 and 3,298.09. Volume was 1.03 billion shares worth 1.03 billion Singapore dollars. There were 251 gainers and 210 decliners.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust lost 0.50 percent, while City Developments was up 0.14 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.72 percent, Dairy Farm International slid 0.35 percent, DBS Group rose 0.17 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.91 percent, Keppel Corp eased 0.19 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.58 percent, SATS shed 0.51 percent, SembCorp Industries rallied 0.91 percent, Singapore Airlines fell 0.39 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.27 percent, Thai Beverage surged 2.34 percent, United Overseas Bank spiked 1.37 percent, Wilmar International jumped 1.17 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 1.52 percent and Mapletree Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Genting Singapore, Ascendas REIT, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Press Holdings and SingTel were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major markets were unable to hold on to early gains on Thursday, opening solidly higher but fading as the day progressed before ending firmly in negative territory for the third straight session.
For the day, the Dow plummeted 313.26 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 34,715.39, while the NASDAQ plunged 186.23 points or 1.30 percent to close at 14,154.02 and the S&P 500 sank 50.03 points or 1.10 percent to end at 4,482.73.
The early gains on Wall Street came as investors scooped up bargains following the two-day slide that carried the markets further away from recent record closing highs - but by the end of the day, rising bond yields and interest rate concerns dragged the markets into the red.
Most analysts believe a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the FOMC is imminent in March.
In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims were much higher than expected last week, as were continuing claims from the week prior. Also, existing home sales disappointed, while the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index saw a sharp jump in January and handily beat expectations.
Crude oil prices eased on Thursday, after having hit a seven-year high in the previous session on demand optimism and supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $0.67 or 0.77 percent to $86.29 per barrel.
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