On Thursday, the Singapore stock market made a swift recovery, ending its two-day downturn, which saw an approximately 1.2 percent, or nearly 40-point, loss. The Straits Times Index (STI) is now comfortably positioned above the 3,265-point mark with signs pointing towards further gains.
The positivity in the global forecast is majorly due to an improved interest rates outlook, a trend being followed by European and U.S. markets. Similarly, Asian markets are also expected to show a positive trend.
On Thursday, the STI saw a slight increase at the close, with varying performances from financial shares, property assets, and industrial securities. The index recorded a slight increase of 1.42 points, or 0.04 percent, ending at 3,265.95, after fluctuating between 3,241.13 and 3,267.97 points during the day.
Talking about active stocks, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust saw a gain of 0.52 percent, whereas CapitaLand Investment witnessed a slide of 0.39 percent. Likewise, City Developments and Comfort DelGro saw dips by 0.34 and 0.69 percent respectively. On the other hand, DBS Group, Emperador, Hongkong Land, and Keppel DC REIT reported gains.
On Wall Street, a subtle uptrend was observed as the leading indexes bounced back quickly after opening lower on Thursday, spending the remainder of the day on the positive side.
The Dow jumped 331.36 points, a 0.85 percent gain, finishing at 39,387.76, while the NASDAQ increased by 43.46 points, or 0.27 percent, closing at 16,346.26. The S&P 500 added 26.41 points, or 0.51 percent, ending at 5,214.08.
The uplift on Wall Street followed a report by the Labor Department which showed a significant surge in first-time unemployment benefit claims in the U.S. last week than anticipated. This will most likely fuel expectations of a reduction in the Federal Reserve's interest rates in the following months, with chances of a rate cut by September being projected at 89.3 percent.
Fuelled by optimism around demand outlook and data indicating a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude oil stocks last week, oil prices made gains. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June closed with an increase of 0.27 dollars at 79.26 dollars a barrel.
