Singapore Stock Market Near the 3,200-Point Plateau

The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in two sessions straight, adding about 1.1% or 35 points along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests at a 3,195-point plateau, and it opens in the green again.

The U.S. and European markets were firmly higher on Friday, and the Asian bourses are supposed to follow that lead. In addition, the global forecast for the Asian markets is mostly positive on a spike in crude oil prices and solid economic data.

The STI closed solidly higher on Friday following gains from the property stocks, financial shares, and industrials. After trading between 3,171.51 and 3,194.71, the index added 0.65 percent or 20.52 points finishing at 3,194.71. The volume was worth 1.19 billion Singapore dollars. There were 171 decliners and 183 gainers.

Among the actives, Mapletree Commercial Trust stock surged 2.60 percent, while Golden Agri-Resources dropped 4.35 percent. On the other hand, SembCorp Industries added 2.33 percent, Corp jumped 1.04 percent, Keppel Yangzijiang Shipbuilding climbed 0.91 percent, Singapore Exchange gained 0.90 percent.

Moreover, CapitaLand spiked 1.65 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.56 percent, Singapore Press Holdings perked 0.71 percent. Also, Thai Beverage stock advanced 0.56 percent, Genting Singapore increased 0.55 percent, and Wilmar International rose 0.49 percent.

Other Changes in Stock Market Following Singapore

As stocks moved sharply higher on Friday and the major averages extended recent increases, the lead from Wall Street is firm.

The Dow added 1.22 percent or 337.26 points to 28,015.06. The NASDAQ also gained 85.83 points to 8,656.53. Furthermore, the S&P 500 advanced 0.91 percent or 28.48 points to 3,145.91. For the week, the NASDAQ and Dow fell 0.1 percent, and the S&P climbed 0.2 percent.

Moreover, following Saudi Arabia and Russia’s agreement on further output curbs, crude oil prices climbed sharply on Friday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up 1.3 percent or $0.77 at $59.20 a barrel. As a result, it is the highest settlement since September 17.